The narrow lane behind Crescent Mall in Lado Sarai that, until a few years back was dotted with inconsequential medical and grocery stores, is now an address to some of the most prominent art galleries in the Capital, including Gallery Threshold and Art Motif. Over the weekend a new art space was added to this list when Gallery Ragini moved here after a two year stint at Hauz Khas village.

“The area is emerging as an art hub. It has a peaceful environment which is conducive to viewing art,” says Nidhi Jain, director of the gallery, as she recalls the three month search during which she saw umpteen places before zeroing in on the current 1,400 sq ft gallery, which is more than double her previous 500 sq ft space at Hauz Khas. “We felt we were not able to do justice to the larger artwork. The recession led us to ponder about aspects that we were lacking in and shortage of space seemed one,” adds Jain.

So the art mart might be on a low and the number of exhibitions during this season limited, but Jain felt this was the perfect time for the opening. The inaugural show has her put together work of artists from across the country, from Baroda to Kolkata. Titled ‘Metamorphic Celebration’, the exhibition, Jain explains, “celebrates the gallery’s own growth and metamorphosis as well as that of the art world and the world around.”

If Praveen’s woodcuts bring together art and science, then Ravi Gossain’s Butterflies in Space reflects on the metamorphosis in human existence. “Just as a worm grows into a caterpillar, then into chrysalis and finally into a stunning butterfly, human beings also progress in a similar manner,” says the artist. Urbanisation acts as the theme for Suchit Sahni and Partha Shaw. The former presents the urban landscape through an abstract in bright hues while the latter paints it in shades of bronze and black over a pack of playing cards pasted on board. Satadru Sovan takes inspiration from the cyber world for his canvas that has a girl moving towards a man deep in thought. His work called Swaying Her Way projects the act of connecting with people through social networking sites. “There is an amount of anxiety experienced when someone waits for a reply though a scrap. Moreover, there is always an apprehension when speaking to an unknown person; the identity could be fake,” says Sovan.

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