CHENNAI: Paintings which till recently rested within the walls of reputed galleries across the world, will now be part of a more modest setting — homes, offices and schools. Twelve works of renowned artists — K R Santhanakrishnan, G Subramanian, Rajkumar Stabathy, Kalidoss, Madhu Venugopal and Muralidharan Alagar — have been printed on the leaves of a calendar as an initiative by Splatter Studio to herald the New Year.
Each of the paintings cost above `50,000, and while one can only imagine their combined worth, the calendar will be available for a mere `500 — thanks to the support of wedding photographer Anbu Jawahar and online art forum ArtZolo.
What’s more, Senthil Ram, director of Splatter Studio tells us, “The funds will be directed to the abandoned and orphaned children at Raghava Lawrence Charitable Trust, run by actor and cinematographer Raghava Lawrence.” This event, he goes on, is one among a series of charity events that will take place over the course of next year by the Studio that is just a few months old.
For Senthil, getting the artists to volunteer for the cause by contributing their works, was surprisingly the easiest task. “Artist Santhanakrishnan is a personal friend of mine, and when I explained the idea, he was more than willing to contribute. Later, we approached the other artists, and they weresupportive as well,” he says. “And as far as the association with the NGO is concerned, I have been following Lawrence Raghava’s work for two years now, and have always wanted to contribute. This was the right chance,” he adds.
With a total of 200 prints ready presently, and 50 pre-ordered, Senthil only hopes that the demand doesn’t settle there.
The calendar is available at Splatter Studio, ECR, Chamiers and Ashvita, and online from ArtZolo at `500.