Easy Art

Over 100 prints,paintings,sculptures,photographs and posters currently occupy one room of the gallery. Some of these items were added to the exhibition after the initial lot drew a positive response. Among these are watercolours on paper by Rekha Rodwittiya—titled Dream From Fukuoka/India; N S Harsha and Akbar Padamsee; an untitled drawing by Krishen Khanna; a work on paper by Jitish Kallat titled Terra Incognita and a work by MF Husain titled Creation According to Buddhism.

The idea of having an exhibition like this was to familiarise new audiences with buying art. A goal that has been achieved,it can be said,with nearly all the buyers being first-timers. “Yesterday,a new buyer walked in and was able to purchase a work with a signature,” says Geetha Mehra,director of the gallery. New buyers aren’t the only ones who have been drawn in. “There have also been regular collectors who have seen a bargain and come in to buy art,” says Mehra. These collectors have then,in turn,introduced more potential buyers to the show.

All the works in the exhibition are from the gallery’s own collection. “They are works we’ve collected over the years. Sometimes,you buy a student’s work and keep it and some of these were acquired like that,” says Mehra. While the prices are attractive for first-timers and regular buyers alike—the most expensive work is one by Jogen Chowdhury for Rs 3.5 lakh.

Mehra says that the price has been deliberately kept low and if these works were being showcased in a regular exhibition,they would probably cost three times as much. An M F Husain offset print,for instance,is priced at Rs 10,000. The show will continue till June 30.