Print Line

If anyone had ever told Arun Vadehra,one of Delhi’s most prominent gallerists,that the future of art publishing is bleak,he would probably have laughed it away. The 145-strong arty crowd that piled in Delhi’s Agni bar at Park hotel for a discussion over “The Lives of Books:Critical Contexts of Art Publishing” on a muggy Friday tended to agree with him. Vadehra’s gallery in Defence Colony was the first Indian one to systematically publish books on art and to date it has 14 publications,including monographs on artists,picture books and even an art directory. So when jaunty art critic S Kalidas,son of late modernist J Swaminathan argued that the big,hard bound art books would gradually fit in the consciousness of Indian readers,just like the ubiquitous coffee chains in the tea-drinking nation,there were murmurs of approval all around. “It is a niche market where these books are regarded as expensive,but this will change gradually,” asserted Vadehra in an hour-long panel discussion moderated by Parul Dave-Mukherji,Professor at the School of Art and Aesthetics,Jawaharlal Nehru University.

The occasion was also reserved for toasting the book release of artist Shilpa Gupta over beer and cheese platters. “It makes great sense to publish books,as the life of a book is quite long and it will become viable over a period of time,” said Gupta,as she signed copies of her book. Her statement found an echo with the top brass of the art world — artist Ranbir Kaleka,Paramjit Singh,Ram Rahman,Ashok Vajpeyi,Sudhir Patwardhan,who socialised over frothy pints. The book on Shilpa Gupta is brought out by Vadehra art gallery in collaboration with Prestel and it has been edited by Mumbai-based cultural theorist Nancy Adajania.