Post lockdown, a number of art galleries in Delhi have started promoting new, young artists – a risk in this economy, but also a welcome change from always sticking to bigwigs in the contemporary Indian art scene. The Morning Standard spoke to various gallerists to on what has prompted them to take this step.
TARIQ ALLANA Associate Director, Art Heritage
“Art Heritage is a gallery that takes risks. Since its inception in 1977, its been a space where artists are encouraged to try out new ideas. So, as we planned for the season during the pandemic, we felt that it was important to stay true to our core mission of promoting the works of young and emerging artists, from India and abroad. Our inaugural show for the season, opening the week of September 28, 2020, is our On the Threshold of Time series – an annual exhibition, now in its eighth edition. Themes of isolation, community, helplessness and compassion are pervasive in the works – making them topical for the times we are living in – and relatable on a global level.”
ROSHINI VADEHRA Director, Vadehra Art Gallery
“We started the VAG FRESH initiative during lockdown as this was more important than ever to support emerging artists. We are showcasing Fire in the Greenhouse and Other Stories, paintings by Shrimanti Saha, an extremely talented artist, and we have been showing her works sporadically at the gallery. We have had great success with her online exhibition through FRESH. People like the idea of supporting a young artist during a challenging time like this, and her work is also extremely evocative and interesting for young collectors – overall the response has been great, both critically and commercially.”
SOMAK MITRA Director, Gallery Art Exposure
“I believe that like art, a gallery too must be in constant evolution. In the past decade, and particularly in the past few months, art has found its own space in the digital world with artists using cutting-edge technology to bring new media immersive art to the forefront of the art world,” observe Viraag Desai’s solo exhibition,
A Mechanical Eye, recalls exactly these technologies of different ways of seeing.
A graduate of The School of the Arts Institute of Chicago, Desai combines his existing practice of reworked paper fragments along with the tools of digital art to create a versatile show that sets the note for new beginnings. His vibrant digital collages combine photogrammetry and 3D scans in a brilliant new series.
An optic installation, Trichotomy, uses light to meld three layers representing parallel realities and the mesh of flows that interlink them. As the director of this upcoming art gallery, "I am proud to look at the exciting world of contemporary art with this particular show.”
For Mitra, selling works by the Modern masters has never been a challenge.
“Even in today’s economy, it is appreciating steadily year on year. On the other hand, selling contemporary art has always been challenging as there are very few, handful, buyers of such art in the country. Contemporary art uses newer mediums which are not yet widely accepted. It can be said it has been a challenge convincing buyers in investing in contemporary art, even though people have started taking interest.”