Art from Close Quarters

Once upon a time,artists’ studio might have been the sanctum where masterpieces were created. Today,however,artists are eager to share their creative process with the connoisseurs. With the easel and the palette now moving to public spaces,people are free to see how an artist works on each stroke. Currently,Pune-based Aditi Kulkarni is developing an installation questioning the “alienation of space” at Seven Art Limited gallery. Similarly,T Venkanna has set shop at Mumbai’s Gallery Maskara. The multi-talented artist is creating etchings and woodcuts. “It is an attempt to blur the conventional line between an artist’s studio and an art gallery,” says Abhay Maskara,director of the gallery. Cooped up at Gallery Maskara,from July 19 to September 4,Venkanna — who raised eyebrows earlier this year when he posed nude with visitors at Art Stage,Singapore,— will create works “centering around public response to sex”.

Director of Khoj Studios,Pooja Sood has been encouraging interaction between audience and artists for years. A few days ago,she had curator Sudeshna Chatterjee discuss her models,posters and a video with the visitors. The artwork was also an outcome of her interaction with children in Khirkee extension. Chatterjee spent two months there,understanding the “importance of playing” and attempted to map the play area and locate different races of people who use the park in Delhi’s Khirkee Extension area. “It is important to demystify art — both for the artist and the audience. The interaction helps initiate more people into art,” says Sood.

For art buyers not acquainted with the nuances of different mediums,the opportunity to see artists at work is an educational experience. “Several people had suggestions and questions. Of course,it is important that an artist patiently addresses the queries,” says Manjunath Kamath,who spent a week painting on the walls of Delhi’s Gallery Espace in August 2010.

“It can be distracting to discuss artwork with people when it is still being conceived. Everyone has a different perception,” says Mexico-based artist Xawery Wolski,who is part of the residency at Religare.

But then,the advantages are plenty too. “The feedback helps artists grow,” he smiles. After all,it is MF Husain’s description as a public artist that captures his essence the best.