Stroke of Style

Fashion and art collude at two historical spaces in one remarkable evening.

This Saturday, March 2, ought to be red-marked by aesthetes of both fashion and art. The day sees two remarkable discussions that put both artistic endeavours in one room. The first is at the spanking-new Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, where artist Reena Kallat will unveil "Untitled (Cobweb/ Crossings)". The museum and ZegnArt, an aspect of the Italian Ermenegildo Zegna group of menswear, have co-curated what the museum's director Tasneem Mehta calls "a pioneering initiative to engage the public imagination".

Seven contemporary artists have been invited to engage with the museum and create an art work that reflects on the idea of the "public" and of art's role in the public space. Kallat has been selected as the winner of the first edition of Zegn Art Public to create the art work. Her work highlights the relationship between public space and the city's history and will be exhibited on the main facade of the pistachio-hued museum. ZegnArt will gift the art work to the museum. A scheduled press conference will announce this and its speakers include Gildo Zegna, CEO Ermenegildo Zegna, Anna Zegna, the company's image director, Mehta, and Kallat.

French giant Louis Vuitton's penchant for art is well known ever since it opened its Espace Culturel Louis Vuitton at their Champs Elysees maison in Paris in 2006. Espace Louis Vuitton Tokyo opened in the beautiful Omotesando area, and hosts three delightful contemporary exhibits a year. This year, they are looking at India. Its sixth exhibit has been curated by art critic and historian Nanak Ganguly who has selected four emerging Indian artists from Kolkata — Adip Dutta, Snehashish Maity, Sekhar Roy and Piyali Sadhukhan.

Saturday, at Cymroza Art Gallery, sees the artists in conversation with Ganguly and Christine Vendredi-Auzanneau from Espace Louis Vuitton Tokyo. Add to this, The India Design Forum at the NCPA on March 15-16, where designers Christian Louboutin, Anouska Hempel and Sabyasachi among others, will be speaking. We have a heady cocktail that mixes both art forms.

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