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A series of large colourful paintings, reimagining moments from artist Anila Kumar Govindappa’s everyday life in Bengaluru and looking at them from social, political and economic perspective, adorn the newly launched art space by Method in Juhu. The exhibition is titled ‘A Reverie of a Memory’.
One of the paintings titled ‘When Lake Becomes Ground’ represents a shared nostalgia of a common space in their neighbourhood — the ground where the artist spent hours playing as a child is where existed a lake when his parents were in their childhood. Another ‘On Their Toes’ looks at the recently held elections in Karnataka.
“I borrow a lot from my surroundings and life,” said the 31-year-old multi-disciplinary artist who is presenting 15 paintings, some of which make a political commentary, adding, “During the recently held elections, it was all that everybody was talking about. Even the city looked very differently for that short while (elections), especially with the heavy patrolling at every nook and cranny. It is my commentary on the political landscape.”
Accommodating these paintings is Method’s third art gallery, which opens its doors to the public today.
“We met Anila Kumar a couple of years ago and were immediately attracted to his aesthetic — his works are very vibrant and colourful. The themes that he covers — the duality of cities, the way different people co-exist and the way society is broken up into different stratas… It is an honest presentation of the world around him and us,” said Sahil Arora, founder of Method.
Method Juhu is spread across 1,800 square feet and is divided into three sections. A significant part of it is reserved for the art gallery where Govindappa is presenting a solo show, his first in Mumbai. Giving it the perfect company is a cafe by Subko offering speciality coffee and bakes. Alongside these two lies a new vertical — Method Marketplace, an art shop offering curated objects and collectables.
“We want art to be accessible. Today when you walk into a gallery, if you don’t have two or three lakhs, you can’t buy anything,” pointed out Arora, adding that the idea is to dispel the notion that you have to be super rich to own art. “With our marketplace, we want to offer an entry point to someone who is younger, who doesn’t have high disposal income but wants to collect something that has artistic value, is limited in nature and at a price point that you are comfortable. Here one can buy a small ceramic cat by Tosha Jagad (illustrator and designer) for Rs 2,500, or a T-shirt at Rs 2,000,” added the management student who began his career with a leading bank before dabbling in advertising and marketing.
Sahil Arora founded Method in 2019, with the first gallery in Kala Ghoda, to create space for new age and digital art which wasn’t showcased at traditional galleries. “The second reason was that we felt that the art galleries weren’t accessible. So, if you are a young person who wants to go and spend some time at an art gallery without any pressure to buy it, there wasn’t any,” he said, adding that it has changed in recent years.
With his new space, Arora, 36, also wanted to take art beyond South Mumbai. “I grew up in Andheri, my school was in Juhu and there are no galleries here, all of them are concentrated in South Bombay. We want to create a space for art enthusiasts.”
Considering it is a larger space, Arora is also excited to see how it will allow them to bring varied art. “We can bring larger pieces which appear boxed when put in smaller galleries, like Anila Kumar’s work – some of his canvases are as big as 6 x 6 feet. We can also bring art installations here,” he said, adding that they will also be curating a lot of activities from a workshop by a ceramic artist to a screenwriter’s masterclass as well as performative arts. “We are also excited to see what we can do with it,” added Arora.
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