Artists Nouveau

Vinita Khanna,one of the artists showing at Espace,says this is a full-blown effect of globalisation,where every brand,material and idea find a presence worldwide. “Earlier the Indian market was not ready for a lot of the practices and styles of artists broad,” says Khanna,who left India for the UK at the age of eight. “Now,however,the art-viewing public and the market have matured in many ways,” adds Khanna,who has been working with unconventional materials like plastic and rubber foam. Sculpting flowers out of discarded plastic bottles and placing them against lush landscapes,she makes a tongue-in-cheek comment on the state of the environment.

Shubha Taparia,an Indore-born artist now based in London,is showing alongside Khanna. She says this is a good time to enter the Indian art market. “After the market crashed,a lot of mediocre art was weeded out. Those who were buying art just for its monetary value left and what we now have is a collector’s market which is good and solid. This is ideal for those looking to make their mark.” Taparia will be showing her photo-realist canvases and video art for the first time in Delhi. Her current works which juxtapose global brands and street dwellers are a subtle comment on the haves and the have-nots. “While my medium is the conventional canvas,it draw on photographs,and so it connects with my video art,” she says.

Another young artist who has managed to bag a prime space at the gallery of the India Habitat Centre is Simran Lamba. A self-taught painter,he makes his debut with unconventional coal tar paintings. “It’s experimental,mixed-media art using melted coal tar,lead and nails. I usually consider my work abstract but one can make out the hint of a face or figure,” says the graduate of Xavier Art of Communication,Mumbai,who is also currently working on a feature film. “I do feel that people have become more interested in and accepting of experimental art. Even in cinema there is more room for self expression,” says Lamba.

Poonam Goel,art consultant for Gallery Espace,says it is time to support young talent. “With many of the senior artists out-pricing themselves,the market has space for new artists. Big galleries are open to up-and-coming talent in India and lesser-known artists from the West. It is an invigorating time for them.”

However,Peter Nagy,director of Nature Morte,says his support for the younger crop of artists also springs from logistical considerations. Jaya Ganguly,Dileep Sharma and Jayanta Roy,who are part of his “Three Painters” show,were artists he had committed to show at his gallery at Park Street,Kolkata. “We had to close down that gallery because of the fire. So I am committed to show them in my Delhi gallery,” he says. Nagy says he would resist the portrayal of his gallery as one that supports young artists. “That is for the younger galleries to do,” he says. Even the non-chalant Nagy is not closing his doors to them: he has a solo of Arun Kumar H G in October and another show of three young painters in December.