Lobbying for Art

“Hotels are the new venues for showing large works of art,installation and new media,” says Sharan Apparao of Apparao Galleries that moved their gallery into the hotel on February 20. Apparao,the person who commissioned and curated the park sculpture and lobby art,says these are also selling well. “Initially,it is the small works like paintings and sketches that move in a market like this. Bigger works,being more expensive do not sell right away. But people are looking at and talking about them . That’s a start,” she says . The more affordable works begin at R 12,000 while the larger works can go up to R 40 lakh.

Near the fountains and dancing lights on the hotel grounds are giant champa and rose flowers made from steel by sculptor Alex Davis; its surfaces reflecting images of children and dogs playing in the green. Inside the lobby,wonderful and yet strange ant hill-like pots made by studio potter Madhavi Subramaniam sit bathing in sunlight. There is art in every nook and cranny,from the washroom to the lobby,the swimming pool area to the bar. Not only does this liven up the interiors but,as assistant manager Anand Singh Shekhawat says,it also generates extra revenue.

Aman hotel joins the ranks of The Oberoi,which opened its art gallery in January with an exhibition of VS Gaitonde,timed to coincide with the India Art Summit so as to attract maximum attention. While that was a ‘not for sale’ retrospective of a reticent painter,hosted by the Saffron Art Auction House,the next exhibition,on March 1,will be a preview of the Modern and Contemporary Spring Auction of the online art portal. “When we hosted the Gaitonde event,not only did we have the interest of collectors and critics in mind but we also wanted footfalls from a new set of people. It was a busy time,with crowds of Indians and non-Indians showing up at the show,” says Dinesh Vazirani,director of Saffronart. Whether this excitement will translate into sales is perhaps the next step for the art portal to explore as it now makes most of its sales through online bidding.

The Le Meridien in Jaipur,too,opened its premises to art through an initiative called Art Corridor on Sunday. All corridors,rooms and interior spaces now display artwork and guests can enroll at workshops in art appreciation organised by the hotel. “Rajasthan has a wealth of art. We want to create a sensitivity towards modern and contemporary art through our Unlock Art Programme. The art initiatives are organised in partnership with Juneja Art Gallery,” says Ashwani Nayar,GM.

Sangita Juneja,owner of Juneja Art Gallery ,adds,“Even the key of the hotel,designed by Taiwanese artist Michael Lin,is literally a work of art. From the walls,hang works by Akash Choyal.” Choyal is winner of the 2010 Lalit Kala Akademi award. He has also shown at the Louvre Museum.

The Lalit Hotel at Barakhamba Road,too,has regular shows of artists and it was at the Taj Mansingh where the Skoda Art Prize was given out by Anish Kapoor to Mithu Sen. So,next time you want art,just check into your nearest luxury hotel.