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35 contemporary Indian artists come together to raise money for cancer patients

These are among the 41 artworks by 35 contemporary artists from across the country that are currently on display at the Colaba-based gallery as part of ‘Painting a Future – Art against Cancer’, an exhibition by the Indian Cancer Society (ICS) to celebrate their 74th Founder’s Day.

The exhibition, which ends on Friday, also features artworks by members of UGAM, the ICS's childhood cancer survivors support group. (Express photo by Ganesh Shirsekar)

A brightly coloured joyous ‘Dancing Nandi’, Lord Shiva’s vehicle, catches the attention as one enters Jamaat Art Gallery in South Mumbai. The vibrant 36 X 36 inches art piece by artist Vivek Kumavat, an alumna of Sir JJ School of Arts, honours the bull’s majestic spirit and incorporates storytelling through Pattachitra, a traditional form of scroll-painting from Odisha and West Bengal that features intrinsically detailed artwork to illustrate mythological narratives and folktales.

Giving it company are two beautiful landscapes of Banaras by West Bengal-based artist Paramesh Paul, one (titled Evening in Banaras) presents an evening setting with the sky painted in hues of red and yellow as people return to the ghats in boats and another (Night in Banaras) see thousands of people, some standing in knee-deep water as they offer prayer to the holy river.

These are among the 41 artworks by 35 contemporary artists from across the country that are currently on display at the Colaba-based gallery as part of ‘Painting a Future – Art against Cancer’, an exhibition by the Indian Cancer Society (ICS) to celebrate their 74th Founder’s Day. Founded in 1951 by Naval Tata and Dr D J Jussawalla, the non-profit organisation raises awareness and supports underprivileged cancer patients financially for diagnostics and treatment as well as rehabilitation and survivorship.

Other prominent artists at the week-long exhibition include Anjolie Ela Menon, Shakti Burman, Jayasri Burman, Brinda Miller, Asit Patnaik, Gautam Mukherjee, Jaideep Mehrotra and Nayanaa Kanodia. Kanodia is also the curator of the exhibition.

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“A lot of these artists are my contemporaries and can’t refuse me their work,” said Mumbai-based artist Kanodia whose work has been held in many public and private collections in India and abroad including the Musée International d’Art Naïf, Paris. “I have put together a wide range of artworks so that everybody has something that interests them. The idea is to make maximum sales,” she noted, adding that she has been organising this exhibition for years as part of her contribution towards cancer care. While three artists have agreed to share all proceeds from the sale with the ICS, others are contributing 50 per cent of the sales.

The exhibition, which ends on Friday, also features artworks by members of UGAM, the ICS’s childhood cancer survivors support group. Marked ‘victors of cancer’, these artworks include black and white portraits of Lord Hanuman and Shivaji by Surya SK made using charcoal on paper, an art installation by Sachin Chandorkar, one of them made using lead and brass and featuring a honeybee at the top of the world, among others.

“While some of these artists are professionally trained, some are not. But they all have relied on art for healing,” said Madhav Nene, director of marketing and awareness at ICS.

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The exhibition is on view till January 24, 11 am to 7 pm at Jamaat Art Gallery, Colaba.

Heena Khandelwal

Heena Khandelwal is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express, Mumbai. She covers a wide range of subjects from relationship and gender to theatre and food. To get in touch, write to heena.khandelwal@expressindia.com ... Read More

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