Business of Art

“The objective,” says Sengupta,“was to provide a divergent atmosphere for unlimited thinking.” Most of the painters have put more thought into the concept rather than the technique. A painting by Kiran Mazumdar Shaw,Chairman and MD of Biocon Ltd,for example,looks like a straggly bunch of thread-like structures. “What I tried to portray is that the basis of life is DNA and life has many forms,” says Mazumdar Shaw. She recounts a visit by James Watson who discovered DNA. When her driver asked him what he was famous for,he sketched the double helix and signed it. It’s a sketch that she’s kept framed in her house. “The interesting thing is that these CEOs might not be painters but the thinking talent of the CEOs and that of the painters is more or less the same. They’ve infused the paintings with so much meaning,” says Sengupta.

Some of the artists like Harsh V Goenka,Chairman of RPG Enterprises,have brought in elements of business and management into their works but most have decided to trample on completely unfamiliar territories. “It was great fun just letting yourself go and doing what you don’t know how to,” says R Gopalakrishnan,Executive Director,Tata Sons.

So while CEOs like Pranab Datta,Vice-Chairman and MD,Knight Frank India,have crowded their canvases with sallow (and slightly distorted) faces,others like Guy Coves,Chief Executive,Khet-Se Agriproduce India,and Azim Premji,Chairman,Wipro,have painted scenic stills of nature.

What the show does prove is that CEOs can loosen their ties and have some fun.