Art and the Works

Like artists, gallerists too now experiment with new ways to mount art from dialogues between tribal and mainstream artists to selling canvases on EMI.

Delhi-based abstractionist Amitava Das's doodle-like sketches might have appeared a tad too experimental to Narayan Bariki, but when the Puri-based patachitra artist was asked to collaborate with Das, he was excited. "I'd never seen his work but knew that he is a renowned artist," says Bariki, whose mixed media canvas with Das is now on display at the Capital's Art Perspective gallery. Besides Das's near gigantic figure, Bariki and fellow patachitra artist Nirmal Yadav have painted a colour band with traditional patachitra motifs, and a dark figure mounted on a horse with a sword in hand. It is one of the 10 works that comprise the exhibition "Silent Dialogues".

Through this, gallerist Suruchi Saraf hopes to bring together tribal and mainstream artists, and in the process, cater to the market for both. "It's challenging for the artists, both of whom come from different backgrounds. For the buyers, on the other hand, each work is unique," says Saraf, who had been working on the show for over a year.

In the art mart where registering each red dot requires ample effort and wooing collectors has become essential for sustenance, gallerists are now working overtime to bring connoisseurs to their doorstep. Art does not suffice, experimentation is the key — not just in the studio, but also in galleries where the works are put before potential buyers.

If Ahmedabad-based Marvel Art Gallery is offering art on EMI, Art Positive gallery in Delhi is bringing together fine art and performing arts. "There is cut-throat competition and one has to think of new ways to bring in more people," says Anu Bajaj, owner of Art Positive, who had a jazz band perform at the opening of her annual show "Devotion", last month. Also lined up is another jazz performance in September, followed by a puppet show in November.

... contd.

ALSO READ

Second Innings

Waiting for right script, says Kajol

Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart to holiday in Cannes

Madhuri Dixit, Akshay Kumar, Ayushmann Khurrana celebrate Mother's Day