Brush with the biggies
Parbina Rashid
Can’t remember when was the last time we saw so many beauties under one roof! MF Husain’s biggest creation Voices, Paresh Maity’s ethereal landscape, Satish Gujral’s vibrantly textured woman with a dhol, Sakti Burman’s nature’s child, Akbar Padamsee’s human form to FN Souza’s abstract figure – it’s only that much that our eyes can behold!
The list ranging from modern to contemporary, however, goes on — SH Raza, Krishen Khanna, Ram Kumar, Jogen Chowdhury, Manu Parekh, Bikash Bhattacharjee, T Vaikuntam, Jagannath Mohapatra, Suryakant Lokhande, Anu Agarwal… Overwhelmingly impressive for any art lover!
As much as we love the creations coming out of the palettes of these great artists, we find the words of AstaGuru Auction House’s representatives palatable too. “This is the first-ever physical exhibition we are organising outside Mumbai,” says Siddanth Shetty, chief administrative officer and spokesperson, AstaGuru. And why Chandigarh, we ask. “Because the city is known for its great culture (and money?), and we can totally connect to it,” they say.
It sounds quite an honest answer because for an online auction house, which specialises in art, antiques and luxury items, they have brought their best of paintings (50 paintings to be precise) as their showcase product. And a few sculptures, among which Ramkumar’s suited-booted gentleman in bronze and Jogen Chowdhary’s Bengali bhadralok playing the veena catches our eyes. We don’t prod into the money angle because we find the answer in Husain’s Voices, whose market price is to the tune of Rs 30 crore! And that it has travelled all the way to Chandigarh, speaks of what the auction house people think of the purchasing power of Chandigarh’s art lovers.
“Chandigarh’s art lovers have been actively participating in our online auctions. Now, this physical exhibition will broaden their knowledge about our collections,” the spokesperson says.
If Husain dominates the exhibition hall with seven paintings (the famous Durga- Mahishashur sketch being one of them), so do Gujral and Souza with four each on display. Amid the creations of such stalwarts, the works of contemporary artists like Prajjwal Choudhury and Suryakank Lokhande hold their own. “Since this exhibition is about testing the proverbial waters, we have curated it as such that there is something for everyone,” we are told.
And they have thought everything through. Like a series of painting by T Vaikuntam is strategically put at the entrance. Mythological figures in bright colours are expected to appeal to those who are new in the realm of art. And for those who have already reached the status of a collector, here are some of the services enlisted in the AstaGuru’s catalogue which might come useful — evaluation of antiques and paintings, and restoration. Didn’t we say they have thought it all through!
