A large space divided neatly to house four different galleries from across the country meant an eclectic mix of art — MF Husain serigraphs, a series of drawings by F N Souza, a special feature on master artist Lancelot Ribeiro, and more at The Gallery Exhibit hosted at The Park, for Madras Art Weekend.
Welcoming visitors was a collection of modernist works from India curated by 108 Art Projects, Delhi. A pioneer of acrylics, Ribeiro’s Reclining Woman is hard to miss. It was displayed among his other works as a part of a special feature. “To compliment his timeline and art, we have curated works of artists including Vivan Sundaram, Avinash Chandra, and Jogen Chowdhury for this exhibit,” says Tarun Khanna, director, 108 Art projects.
Dhoomimal Gallery‘s Convergence brought together Indian modern masters and contemporary art. Nixit Kothari, traces the history of the gallery from 1936 and its association with a lineage of artists. He points to works by Jamini Roy, AR Chughtai, AP Santhanaraj, and Sailoz Mukherjee, who he says was one of among the first few artists to start working with Dhoomimal in the 1940s. An acrylic and charcoal on canvas work by Sunil Das, where a majestic black bull stands against hues of blue, catches one’s eye.
Next door, Palette Art Gallery’s showcase espoused the vision of its founders — designer duo Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna who aim to provide young contemporaries, and mid-career artists a platform to showcase their work. Every piece here curated by the Delhi-based art gallery is striking — it is hard to walk past Yuvan Bothysathuvar’s I’m Alive, which is a myriad of colours brought alive by Canson paper on plywood. There’s also Apurba Nandi’s Parallel Line Never Meet Anywhere, with thousands of miniscule human bodies packed together in lines as far as the eye can see.
At the final stop is Ahmedabad-based Archer Art Gallery’s extensive collection of serigraph prints of artworks by masters. “These are signed by the artists. Everybody now wants affordable art, and this is a great stepping stone for someone who is beginning a collection or graduating to high-end art, or even for gifting,” says Manan Relia, director.
Right by the entrance is a stunning S H Raza serigraph, Surya and Naga, and further down are several M F Husain and Thota Vaikuntam serigraphs. Seema Kohli’s The Golden Womb Series, a collection of six serigraphs on metallic film pasted on paper is instantly captivating — with a distinct sheen, and bust of colour depicting divine femininity.
This was a first-of-its kind initiative as a part of the Madras Art Weekend, to bring together four galleries from across the country, and there was something for everyone — be it the art aficionados, or the beginners who were introduced to artists across different time periods and distinct styles.
