Chatterati

The old with the new
It was opening night at Project 88 for the show East Village,featuring nine artists from Bihar. Delhi artist Subodh Gupta,the current poster boy of Indian Contemporary art,curated this show and was mingling with guests as fellow artists. His wife Bharati Kher caught up with old Mumbai-based friends like Atul Dodiya and Abhay Maskara. In a telling comment,Usha Gawde,who was present with artist-husband Sunil Gawde,indicated that she couldn’t make out who the artists were but was looking forward to meeting them. Given that these artists have never shown in Mumbai before,it fell on Gupta to introduce the artists. Rahul Gupta,one of the artists,who also happens to be Subodh’s nephew,was most at ease and chatted up his guests. Others present were Pravina and Jamal Mecklai,Shireen Gandhy,Chintan Upadhyay,Satyanand Mohan and Lavanya Mani.

Showstopper Gallery owner Sree Goswami was on the phone with buyers interested in picking up the works: A sure indication of a revived market.