JOANNE PINTO PEREIRA brings you the essential world of art and culture. The city Bombay that bred and challenged her, compels her to sip and share the many happenings in and around her. It is a symbiosis that Goans connect with, wherever they be. Ditto for all those who reach out within to reflect and recharge….
MAXIMUM city, presently named Mumbai, has so much on offer for all stakeholders in the creative industry. The soul of the city is not its structures but the people who make it. In the incessant scramble of daily routine is the soul food of an abundance of art and culture.
Get ready to be spoilt for choice by the programming of Avid Learning, KGAF (Kala Ghoda Arts Festival), St+art, Art Mumbai, Mumbai’s very own festival launched last year by Saffronart or exhibits by renowned auctioneers like Pundoles and a zillion innovative world class curations. Spaces that highlight the innate beauty of their structures and open their otherwise elusive doors.
You are welcome you to partake of these, some offer you a glass of wine but the best part is even if you pay a token amount it is an acknowledgment of the effort that it takes to host the mindfully culled workshop or exhibition space.
It could take a well spent lifetime to dwell on each of these and what is evolving into a movement of its own! Safe to say that for one with well worn walking shoes, you identify with the name and artist like a whiff of brand connect or rather a taste bud that recalls and is ready to savor surprises.
To kick of this column let me first take you through what is simply called ANT or Art Night Thursday.
This is an activity that is held on the second Thursday of each month. If you are wondering about the frequency, I would take it a notch higher. I split the viewing from the bustling camaraderie of the gallery hop of ANT or the occasional MGW (Mumbai Gallery Weekend) into the quieter weekdays. Tied up with route that make it seamless you will find each area like Fort or Colaba aligns its multiple galleries in clusters that sync.
Over the last few years there has been a surge in art visibility. Private collections too are finding it worthwhile to bring to the table their prized possessions. It is a win win for all. The living artist or sculptor, the collector, the commerce, the connoisseur or the viewer who owns the space for that moment in time. ANT draws an evidently cohesive community who can access and partake of what was earlier an elitist privilege. The growing tribe looks out for the Insta notification and charts their extended gallery hours. Most Art hoppers get a friend or join groups like Carpeart to interact with the artist, curator and gallerist invariably present the preview and ANT.
The direction and versatility of the collections by artists are remarkable. You have gallerists and curators who have the unenviable task of shortlisting amazing artworks to accommodate the representations.
Let’s begin with the Cul de sac at Colaba that brilliantly showcased Victor Hazra at Apre, “Gestalt” brings the intersection of geometry in nature and artistry. It highlights the intrinsic ability of the artist to fascinate with technique and imagination. Earth palette, multimedia and great use of space.
Then head to Chatterjee & Lal near Radio Club to soak in “Resemblance: The Art of Rustom Siodia and Cumi Dallas. C&L brings you another rare exhibition of the full career of father and daughter. The duo cover the turn of the previous two centuries and time stands still as you view the landscapes of Rustom and portraits and murals of Cumi.
On view until August 24.
Experimenter Colaba presents “We Will See”, a two-person exhibition by Pushpakanthan Pakkiyarajah and Vikrant Bhise at Experimenter – Colaba, Mumbai which brings together an immersive new body of sculptural installations, drawings and paintings. Hailing from two distinct social and political milieus, Pakkiyarajah and Bhise’s practices both attempt to archive collective memory. In the exhibition, the artists address the realities of their own geographical and socio-political context and attempt to make way for the healing of collective trauma.
The art makes you shift from your comfort zone. As the curatorial note reads, “It emphasises the importance of staying attuned to the deeply fractured world around them, while keeping alive the hope for justice and right to self-determination through resistance, re-imagination and survival.”
Exhibition on view until September 6, 2024.
Another social reality of sustainable living and nature entitled “Ebb & Flow” can be found at “Jamaat” shared by two artists Bhavna Sheth and Praveena Parepalli brought together by Rad Art. It is delightful to hear Bhavna explain her colourful meticulous express, as if her vision was drone view inspired. The contrast themed in nature again, is the black and white renditions of animals and trees
On till August 10, 2024
On the list has to be Gandhiy’s Chemould Prescott (Chemould collab for genext) in their 60 years of giving Indian artists a platform for mindful expression. The works are a selection of 15 artists “in the making: Drawing Refining Revising” Themes like rivers in Reena Saini Kallat or the elements of time and existence in Mithu Sen nuanced works using presence and absence by Shilpa Gupta. The list bears the unmistakable stamp of the art world with Gobhai, Shakuntala Kulkarni and the equally weighty ones by space exclusion.
On till September 3, 2024.
Across in their space that has made its own mark is Tarq. “Dispersive Acts” by Amba Sayal-Bennett is refreshing. It is the first solo exhibition in India by the artist.
On view till September 21, 2024
Dotting the path are multiple art stories that feature the works of tribal art, “Mural of the Story. It is difficult to do justice to the havens of art that unfold in every nook and cranny along the way. Not to forget we have to keep the democratic resonance of “Art + Charlie” in Bandra for opportunities to young talent like Kumar Misal for another day.
Likewise the Culture Community is also spotted at other creative art events of Film (“Call me Dancer” at the Little theatre NCPA), Music (multiple or houseful panel discussions. Take conversations like Avid Learning’s panel on the much talked about “AI Rhythms and Algorithms” skilfully moderated by Rafael Pereira, Managing Partner of TINNUTS a legal firm that caters to the music industry. Not only does it demystify the nascent framework for creative stakeholders but fulfils a need to initiate the process.
More power to the world of art, its partitioners and the many inner wheels that make it tick. It is what makes the world a better place.