A Shade Brighter

Till some years ago Lado Sarai was dotted with grocery stores and odd shops selling art reproductions on posters. Now tucked in a kilometer-long lane,behind the Crescent Mall,are more than 10 art galleries,with show windows dressed with installations of contemporary artists and works of veterans. On Tuesday,a new entrant to the neighbourhood was deliberating on the most appropriate artwork to showcase in her window. “It’s important to look into every detail,” said Anu Bajaj,who has opened her gallery Art Positive,with a cafeteria and a bookstore thrown in. “It is the perfect location. Having several galleries in one location gives people a great choice. Art,after all,is not an impulse purchase,” she said. Her husband Rajiv Bajaj,director,Bajaj Capital,recalled the year-long search that made them decide on Lado Sarai. “We thought of malls,but it did not seem appropriate for art,” he said.

Even as the last coat of white paint was being put on the walls,Anu was setting up the cafeteria in a corner. On the menu are coffees to sip with grilled sandwiches and salads. The tiny,15-cover cafeteria is separated by a glass wall,allowing one to view the artwork suspended across the gallery,while the cappuccino is a safe distance away from the canvas. “You can sit and admire a work,” said Anu.

It currently shows works of 18 young artists who were short-listed for a fellowship programme introduced by the gallery last year. The winner,Mumbai-based Haribaabu Naatesan,gets centre space with a wall dedicated to his artwork,including a mixed media work. If Salvodar Dali had a Stallion,a take-off on the surrealist’s horses,has a white stallion made of electric waste. Sandeep Jigdung paints the Northeast,while Vanshika Sharma’s installation has wool and cloth patches wound on steel hangers that are strung together with a thread.

For those who prefer to flip through art history,the book rack has,among others,Conceptual Art by Daniel Marzona,Renaissance Art in France by Henri Zerner and even Arts and Crafts of Rajasthan by Aman Nath and Francis Wacziarg. In the show window,meanwhile,is a Siddharth Pansari abstract in shades of green and red.