gallery roundup asian art 17 Asian Art in Mumbai

recognised Indian and Volte visitors and art enthusiasts, in post-Independence India. By Caroline Eden international artists. Soon to launch its artist Gallery BMB houses a unique The gallery is housed in a Project 88 was one of the residencies, away from the art art bookshop with a dedicated hundred year old British The 3rdI ndia Art Summit, to be held between the first galleries in India to insist district of downtown reading area and onsite café. colonial building with a 20-23 of January 2011 in New Delhi, will showcase some on giving valuable space to Mumbai, Volte has been BMB’s holistic concept is for central gallery area of of the bestIndian modern and contemporary art as well cutting-edge video art, central to the Mumbai art the gallery to be a truly approximately 5000 square as provide a good opportunity for international art to be painting, photography, scene since its launch. Existing interactive space – a cultural feet as well as a smaller display received by a sizeable and judicious art audience. sculpture, and performance. to provide a platform for non- hub that welcomes and area within the larger space. Growing steadily year on year, in terms of size, The 4000 square feet gallery is traditional art and culture in connects people from different www.gallerychemould.com participation, attendance and sales of artworks, India Art located in a renovated the city, it is constantly walks of life with art. Artists Summit currently presents the single largest and most century-old metal printing striving to add to the arena of represented include Avinash Pundole diverse showcase of art in the region. press and its industrial Indian art as well as to help Veeraraghavan, Navin Thomas, Gallery Ahead of next year’s fair we look at Mumbai’s best art atmosphere lends itself form and mould trends and Sakshi Gupta, Srinivasa Another crucial Mumbai galleries, most of which are located in the southern Kala perfectly to exhibiting movements. Volte, as an art Prasad and Zakkir Hussain. gallery, established as one of Ghoda and Colaba districts, although a couple are out in contemporary art. Project 88 space, is a radical shift from www.gallerybmb.com India’s earliest art galleries in the suburbs. The city is home to many artists and an has gained international the traditional gallery model. May 1963, Pundole Art escalating art scene with an increasing international attention within its four years Instead, it brands itself as an Chemould Gallery has been promoting presence. and many of its artists have exciting place for intellectuals, Prescott Road modern and contemporary For more general information on the January fair in been presented at major writers and artists to gather. One of the oldest galleries in Indian art through exhibitions, Delhi and list of exhibitors, educational programmes, collections, biennales and Located in the heart of the the country, and one that is retrospectives, publications speakers’ forum and other concurrent events, shows. Colaba art district there is an critical to India’s modern art and art education for decades. visit www.indiaartsummit.com, or contact Exhibitions over the past exhibition space, a bookshop, a scene, Chemould Prescott Founded by Kali Pundole in [email protected]. years have included Atul café, a film club and a Road has, over the years, the vibrant post-independence Bhalla, Neha Choksi, Baptist platform for public art. Artists represented major artists who era, the gallery is one of the Coelho and Monali Meher represented include Qusal led the first waves of India’s most reputed and recognized Art Musings Galerie along with various group Kathawala, Kiran Kaur Brar, modernist and contemporary in India today. Synonymous Founded in 1999, Art Mirchandani + exhibitions of Japanese, Mukul Deora and Tara art movements. Artists such as with the ‘Progressive Artists Musings was one of the first Steinruecke Central Asian, and emerging Kelton. Tyeb Mehta, S.H. Raza, Group’, Pundole Art Gallery galleries to open in South Established in 2006 by Usha artists. www.volte.in Bhupen Khakkar, Nalini has been the primary dealer Mumbai’s Colaba area, which Mirchandani and Ranjana www.project88.in Malani, Atul Dodiya and for Modern Indian Masters has since developed into the Steinruecke, Galerie Gallery BMB Jitish Kallat, emerged with the such as M.F. Husain, V.S city’s art quarter. Mirchandani + Steinruecke Gallery BMB, located in the support of the gallery to Gaitonde, Ram Kumar, Akbar Fostering a wide range of introduces new contemporary Sakshi Gallery heart of Mumbai’s fashionable become key proponents of the Padamsee, K.H. Ara, F.N. different artistic practices, Art Indian artists to the Mumbai Sakshi Gallery was set up in Fort area, is a collaboration modern art movement in Souza and Krishen Khanna. Musings exhibits renowned art scene and gives a stage to 1984 and has enabled local between artist and curator India. Owners Kekoo and Nowadays the gallery Indian modernists such as mid-career artists. Various artists to show large-scale Bose Krishnamachari and Khorshed Gandhy began their continues to evolve, showing F.N Souza, S.H Raza, Ram different forms have been installations in the 10,000 long term art patrons Avanti long association with folk art and even craft wares, Kumar, K.G Subramanyan exhibited in the past, from square foot gallery since its Birla, Devaunshi Mehta and contemporary art during the alongside works of Indian and Jogen Chowdhury. The painting, drawing, sculpture, formation. Located Dia Mehta. A comfortable late 1940s, in the early years of modern art masters. gallery also shows textile-based art and collage to downtown in Mumbai’s art space that attracts many the modernist art movement www.pundoleartgallery.in international artists such as photography and video. The district, it is the largest private Nalini Malani, Baiju Parthan, gallery has presented key gallery in the country.Having Shibu Natesan, Smriti Dixit, international works by Kiki unveiled many young artists it Bose Krishnamachari, Jayasri Smith, Jonathan Meese, Juul has also had valuable support Burman, Reena Kallat, Kraijer, Dayanita Singh, Polly from some of India’s foremost Gopikrishna, Suneel Apfelbaum and Eva and artists, such as M.F. Husain, Mamadapur, Paresh Maity, Franco Mattes. Between 1997 Ram Kumar, F.N. Souza, K. Chittrovanu Mazumdar and to 2003, the couple ran a space G.Subramanyan, Nalini Maya Burman. The gallery in Berlin for contemporary art Malani, Akbar Padamsee, works with a collector base from India organising solo Jehangir Sabavala and stretching from India to exhibitions with Atul Dodiya, Ghulam Mohammed Sheikh. Europe and North America. Bhupen Khakhar, Jogen Over the years, Sakshi Gallery www.artmusings.net Chowdhury, M.F. Husain and has held exhibitions the world S.H. Raza. over from Berlin to Hong Chatterjee & Lal www.galeriems.com Kong and New York to Originally formed in 2003 by London. As well as an art husband and wife team Lakeeren advisory section it also houses Mortimer Chatterjee and Lakeeren opened in 1995 in an art lending library, Tara Lal, this gallery has the Vile Parle area and was undertakes large public morphed from its original one the first galleries to exist commissions and supports infinitesimal art space into a outside the South Mumbai art young artists with much larger 1600 square foot circuit. In a unique move, the scholarships. gallery set within a Victorian, gallery presented avant-garde www.sakshigallery.com Raj-period warehouse. The art to a new audience outside move in 2007 was indicative the usual collector’s circle. The of Mumbai’s maturing art original gallery was a small The Guild scene, which continues to space, yet from it Arshiya The Guild Art Gallery, gather speed and repute. Lokhandwala managed to founded in Mumbai in late Chatterjee & Lal is now one curate shows that promoted 1997 by Shalini H. Sawhney, of Mumbai’s preeminent art many influentialM umbai has established a major spaces and a springboard for artists.Nowadays, the gallery international reputation for much of the country’s new Lakeeren can be found in its dedication to showing artistic talent. The gallery has more traditional surroundings significant artists whose work organised a number of in the Grant’s building in is pioneering, ruthless, projects that have utilised Colaba. Artists represented challenging and intellectually non-traditional spaces within include Mithu Sen, driven. the city by artists that use T.V. Santosh, Sonia Khurana Since its inception, the diverse methods such as and Gauri Gill. Gallery’s mission has been to performance, video and www.lakeerengallery.com represent, support and nurture sculptural installations. The the work of emerging, cutting gallery represents an Project 88 edge artists and to discover impressive list of up-and- Very much at the cutting edge new initiatives. The Guild has coming talent, including of the Mumbai art scene, built up a stable of talented performance artist Nikhil Project 88, Mumbai opened in artists, such as Baiju Parthan, Chopra, Hitesh Natalwala, April 2006 in Colaba with a Om Soorya, Riyas Komu, Sophie Ernst, Minam Apang solo exhibition of Bharti Rakhi Peswani to name a few, and Lahore-based Rashid Kher’s work. The key aim of many of whom have been Rana, one of Pakistan’s most Sree Goswami, the gallery’s actively participating in fairs, influential contemporary director, has been to seek out collaborations and exhibitions artists. young, emerging artists and around the world. www.chatterjeeandlal.com display them alongside more www.guildindia.com

november 2010