CULTURE

ARTSCAPE
An avid collector of artworks for 20 years
Garima Pant

His love for art knows no bounds. Right from his childhood, he had a knack for locating and collecting antiques and artifacts. He got full support from his family in pursuing his hobby of collecting such rarities. Somewhere deep inside, he had the constant urge to do something related to this field. And finally when he decided to quit his job as the head of the Department of marketing in a leading multinational firm, he faced stiff opposition from his family. At length, he felt satisfied as he was doing something that he had always desired for.

A new chapter began in the life of Sandeep Magazine when he set up an antique shop, ‘Heart & Soul’, four years back. He has now been chosen as the curator of an exhibition at Arpana Fine Arts, which is schedule to be held from September 1 to September 10.

This is the first-ever exhibition he is holding that involves a classic collection of paintings of selected artists across India like Jamini Roy, B. C. Sanyal, Samir Paul, Neeraj Mitra and many more. The collection that will be on display will showcase a wide spectrum of new and unexplored works of art, truly an art lover’s delight.

He has been collecting these works of art for the past 20 years while maintaining a low profile so as to compile an exclusive collection and get to know the artists and their works in detail and to get a feel of their efforts. He now finds the time ripe to take the plunge into this field. He is also getting his own art gallery constructed at Lado Sarai where he can devote all his attention to the promotion of arts.

To be spread on three floors, the basement and the ground floor will have a permanent collection of art and antiques. The first floor will be an exhibition hall, where regular exhibitions would be held. It will also be rented out to artists who cannot afford to hire expensive spaces to display their works.

He believes that deserving artists don’t get what they shall. They are made to struggle and forced to think of all kinds of minute things, which affects their creativity. He will be trying to provide such artists a space where they can work at ease. He wants to educate people and infuse them with a love for art through whatever way he can. He knows it is not an easy job but is still prepared to face all the hardships.

A self-made man, he began his career with student artists and completely unknown names. He owes them his gratitude and feels that this is the right time to pay them back by promoting them through his art gallery.

New genre

Unique, creative and interesting! These are just a few words that could be used to describe ‘Nayan Sukh’ installation show at the Lalit Kala Academy. It was a unique experience in many ways, as it broke away from the usual rituals and norms of a normal art show. The use of mannequins as a part of the visual language presented artist Nitasha Jainee in a very different and appealing creative mould. One rarely finds an artist infusing such ingenuity to her work. One feels a part of the show in all its senses and totality.

It took her a year and a half to prepare for the show. The risks involved were too many, as it was a very different experiment she was taking upon. She was helped financially by her family as there were not many who were keen to invest in such an art form. But she persisted on, as she wanted to do something different from the usual practices. And so were born the ‘Duratranslits’, which gave her words and new images, colours and forms with the help of the computer.

The barriers have now been broken and her sense of achievement is hard to explain. She has successfully opened new vistas for both art admirers and artists and introduced us to a different genre of art form.

Show of friendship

“Nuances” describes 20 years of togetherness of four friends and artists and it was celebrated with an exhibition at the Lalit Kala Academy. Four different styles of work put forward a very appealing exhibition.

K. Balasubramanyan, in his works, tried to compose tantrik motives with a mixed acrylic medium along with pastels on canvas. He works as an artist and has to his credit a number of exhibitions. P.S. Devanath, who previously worked with watercolours, has tried to work with metals in this display. His father was an artist and the principal of a college, from where this group of four friends completed their studies. He got his inspiration to carry on working in this field from his father.

Besides a sculptor, B. G. Magendran has worked with various mediums like watercolour, oil and acrylic. His present subject of work is landscapes. He is associated with the film industry as an art director and thus contributes that experience in the use of bright light and illuminating colours in his work. Some very pleasant and attention-grabbing works go to his credit. The other friend, S.V. Prabhuram, has done collage work with mixed media on paper. Movement and travelling objects seem to be the central themes of his works.

Tribute to trees

‘Treescapes’ by Aruna Nene Chopra is a tribute to trees. And rightly so as the entire exhibition at the Lalit Kala Academy gave the Delhiites a rich taste of what it likes to be surrounded by greenery. The city in the paintings is so full of dry and barren patches but were surrounded by vivid greenery giving a very different kind of peace and calm to the viewers. It soothes one’s spirits. The paintings done on bright flowers make one feel happy and forget all inhibitions. It is like experiencing heaven, its nature in its best colours and spirits.

Aruna Nene Chopra is an alumnus of the Faculty of Fine Arts, MSU, Baroda. And this is her first exhibition. This traditional and oft-painted subject has been presented with such fine perfection and subtlety that it leaves a deep impression in all hearts. Each type of tree depicted in her work defines its individual character and spirit. A truly beautiful display of art in its perfectly true sense.

Close to reality

From Khairagarh in Chattisgarh came an exhibition of painting, graphic and sculpture of a group of artists at the Rabindra Bhavan. The group had artists like Abhishek Gupta, Kishore Sharma, Shekh Hifzul, Shubra Chand, Siva Prasad Marar and Vipul Jain. One of Abhishek Gupta’s graphics, ‘Dream’, is based on his dream about the Gujarat earthquake being carried away after death. His vivid memory of that dream made him portray it on paper. Meanwhile, Shekh Hizbul has based his works on nature. The use of bright and sharp colours makes his works close to reality. The exhibition had a variety of expressions and ideas on display giving the viewers plenty to ponder and reflect upon.

Two new albums

As the festive season is round the corner, T-Series has released two new music albums. ‘Ek Hindustani’ has soundtracks from the movie starring Sunil Shetty and Raveena Tandon. Anand Raj Anand has composed the music. The songs are sung by Alka Yagnik, Sonu Nigam and Udit Narayan.

The songs of the other album, ‘Mujhko Piya Ki Yaad Sataye’, are sung by sisters Preeti and Pinky, who shot into limelight with their ‘piya piya’ number.

The music for this album has been composed by Daboo Malik and the lyrics have been penned by Sameer. The beats of these albums are sure to rev up the hearts this season.