An unbounded love for the arts makes many leave their comfortable nine-to-five jobs and follow the path of uncertainties. It was so for Gayatri Singh, a gallerist and the founder of Art Incept, a Gurugram gallery. Singh left a corporate job and put the hard work behind establishing the foundation that would run with the motto: find emerging visual artists, provide them with needed mentorship, and showcase their skills.
Singh found that many stories were left unsaid in the art world. The journey of Art Incept began in 2020. “From day one, I wanted to run it very professionally. To share the raw stories from the heartland and provide the needed voice to the artists, Art Incept came up with a mentorship programme along with a grant. In addition, we focussed on showcasing the artworks depicting raw stories from the heartland,” she noted.
As the venture steps into its sixth year, 2025 presents an array of opportunities to Singh and the artists associated with it. With an eye to the London Art Fair (January 22-26), Singh and her team are gearing up to present some of their finest artworks.
“In the London Art Fair, we will explore the theme ‘Mother Earth.’ The artworks will be presented under the title ‘Songs from My Homeland – A Memoir of Life and Rituals.’ We feel it is the right time to share our heritage, culture, and tradition through our works,” Singh added.
Art Incept will showcase the works of three emerging artists Ram Dongre, Satyanarayana Gavara, and Viswanath Kuttum. In a conversation with The Morning Standard, the artists expressed enthusiasm for portraying works aligning with the theme.
Myriad themes
Intrigued by the opportunity to showcase stories from the heartland, Dongre said, “In my artworks, I often explore themes like childhood memories and precious things that have worn out but deserve preservation. For the upcoming art fair, I plan to build on this by incorporating elements of our culture and heritage—things that also need to be cherished and safeguarded.”
Echoing his thought, Kuttum, who traces art in his native and rural landscape, added, “In the upcoming fair my works will be based on rituals of my community, where many things are practised to bring wellness in the regular life. In addition, I will refer to the celebrations during festivals and weddings and the rituals for death and birth.”
The rural landscape or the landscape associated with the heartland often comes with unexplored beauty touching minds and hearts. The inequalities in socio-economic lives of the region have not often been the subject of art. This is the reason Gavara sought to explore the dynamics of the production of food in an agrarian economy.
In the upcoming art fair, the artist is set to showcase agrarian problems, particularly about landless farmers remembering his own childhood in a family of tenant farmers.