Art Lovers Only

The desire to have a crowded,packed hall during art exhibitions makes Delhi galleries a hot favourite for shows but when curator Sushma Bahl set out to plan the Art Mart at Epicentre...

A new cultural centre in Gurgaon aims at promoting art awareness

The desire to have a crowded,packed hall during art exhibitions makes Delhi galleries a hot favourite for shows but when curator Sushma Bahl set out to plan the Art Mart at Epicentre,the culture centre in Gurgaon,she was convinced that its location will not be a deterrent. There is an interesting programme schedule and with the mart we are targeting people who are genuinely interested in art, stated Bahl,as she readied for the inaugural ceremony on Friday evening that featured a Bharatnatyam performance by Santnu Chakraborty,Santosh Nair and troupe. Occupying stalls at the venue,meanwhile,were representatives from 10 galleries and 30 artists from across the country,who have on display select artworks for sale. The response has been good, added Bahl.

On the discussion table for almost a year,the aim to raise art awareness also led to the chalking of a two-day art appreciation course,beginning today,that will be an integral part of the festival. There are a range of topics that will discuss a variety of concerns, stated Bahl. So if the opening lecture will have art historian Dr Parul Pandya Dhar talk on the Introduction to Indian Art: Concepts and Forms,the post-lunch session will have Siddhartha Tagore,editor,Art & Deal magazine,speak on Tribal,Folk and Popular in Indian Art. On the following day,Serra Pradhan,a New York based art dealer and adviser,will address the audience on the Western Art Scene: Some Current Practices. There will be a lot of interaction with the audience, said Bahl,as she noted that the presence of artists in an art camp organised at the same venue will also provide an opportunity to interact with them. In attendance will be several artists including Gopi Gajwani,Arunkumar HG and Satish Gupta.

Dressing up the culture centre,meanwhile,are also installations and works of public art. While Hemi Bawas 4ft x 2ft work ,The Flowering,in cast glass with copper figures in fibre glass,occupies one corner,some distance away is Karl Antaos World of Words in stainless steel. Will the slowdown affect the sale at the mart? People interested in understanding art should come,they may or may not buy. Also,there is a price range,from the masters to the really young artists, she stated.

Vandana Kalra

Vandana Kalra is an art critic and Deputy Associate Editor with The Indian Express. She has spent more than two decades chronicling arts, culture and everyday life, with modern and contemporary art at the heart of her practice. With a sustained engagement in the arts and a deep understanding of India’s cultural ecosystem, she is regarded as a distinctive and authoritative voice in contemporary art journalism in India. Vandana Kalra's career has unfolded in step with the shifting contours of India’s cultural landscape, from the rise of the Indian art market to the growing prominence of global biennales and fairs. Closely tracking its ebbs and surges, she reports from studios, galleries, museums and exhibition spaces and has covered major Indian and international art fairs, museum exhibitions and biennales, including the Venice Biennale, Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Documenta, Islamic Arts Biennale. She has also been invited to cover landmark moments in modern Indian art, including SH Raza’s exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the opening of the MF Husain Museum in Doha, reflecting her long engagement with the legacies of India’s modern masters. Alongside her writing, she applies a keen editorial sensibility, shaping and editing art and cultural coverage into informed, cohesive narratives. Through incisive features, interviews and critical reviews, she brings clarity to complex artistic conversations, foregrounding questions of process, patronage, craft, identity and cultural memory. The Global Art Circuit: She provides extensive coverage of major events like the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Serendipity Arts Festival, and high-profile international auctions. Artist Spotlights: She writes in-depth features on modern masters (like M.F. Husain) and contemporary performance artists (like Marina Abramović). Art and Labor: A recurring theme in her writing is how art reflects the lives of the marginalized, including migrants, farmers, and labourers. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent portfolio is dominated by the coverage of the 2025 art season in India: 1. Kochi-Muziris Biennale & Serendipity Arts Festival "At Serendipity Arts Festival, a 'Shark Tank' of sorts for art and crafts startups" (Dec 20, 2025): On how a new incubator is helping artisans pitch products to investors. "Artist Birender Yadav's work gives voice to the migrant self" (Dec 17, 2025): A profile of an artist whose decade-long practice focuses on brick kiln workers. "At Kochi-Muziris Biennale, a farmer’s son from Patiala uses his art to draw attention to Delhi’s polluted air" (Dec 16, 2025). "Kochi Biennale showstopper Marina Abramović, a pioneer in performance art" (Dec 7, 2025): An interview with the world-renowned artist on the power of reinvention. 2. M.F. Husain & Modernism "Inside the new MF Husain Museum in Qatar" (Nov 29, 2025): A three-part series on the opening of Lawh Wa Qalam in Doha, exploring how a 2008 sketch became the architectural core of the museum. "Doha opens Lawh Wa Qalam: Celebrating the modernist's global legacy" (Nov 29, 2025). 3. Art Market & Records "Frida Kahlo sets record for the most expensive work by a female artist" (Nov 21, 2025): On Kahlo's canvas The Dream (The Bed) selling for $54.7 million. "All you need to know about Klimt’s canvas that is now the most expensive modern artwork" (Nov 19, 2025). "What’s special about a $12.1 million gold toilet?" (Nov 19, 2025): A quirky look at a flushable 18-karat gold artwork. 4. Art Education & History "Art as play: How process-driven activities are changing the way children learn art in India" (Nov 23, 2025). "A glimpse of Goa's layered history at Serendipity Arts Festival" (Dec 9, 2025): Exploring historical landmarks as venues for contemporary art. Signature Beats Vandana is known for her investigative approach to the art economy, having recently written about "Who funds the Kochi-Muziris Biennale?" (Dec 11, 2025), detailing the role of "Platinum Benefactors." She also explores the spiritual and geometric aspects of art, as seen in her retrospective on artist Akkitham Narayanan and the history of the Cholamandal Artists' Village (Nov 22, 2025). ... Read More

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Art Lovers Only

The desire to have a crowded,packed hall during art exhibitions makes Delhi galleries a hot favourite for shows but when curator Sushma Bahl set out to plan the Art Mart at Epicentre...

The desire to have a crowded,packed hall during art exhibitions makes Delhi galleries a hot favourite for shows but when curator Sushma Bahl set out to plan the Art Mart at Epicentre...