Lens talk

A problem that’s soon to be solved. On January 14,MFG will open at a new venue at Ballard Estate.

It will not only acquire walls but will also be the first private gallery dedicated solely to the photographic medium.

Between the eternal combination of cigarettes and coffee,Foss unleashes his views on photography. “Photography as a medium has grown in leaps and bounds in India but the spaces for exhibiting it are still very limited.”

He’s already lined up an impressive array of exhibitions for the MFG,starting with a collection by Montreal-born photographer Marcus Leatherdale,which the latter’s been shooting in India since 1993. Other photographers in the pipeline include Shahid Dutta,whose work is titled Where the city rests,and Sanjiv Kandelkar’s Bad breath,capturing stories revolving around a refrigerator.

Foss wants MFG to take after exhibition spaces like the Gallery BMB— handsome but comfortable,dressed but not overdressed. “The great thing about BMB is that it takes so much effort to bring international art to India. Ninety per cent of Indian collectors still only buy Indian art. If a country wants to make its mark in the world art market,collectors have to diversify and take a look at what’s happening in other cultures.”

So is it a giant leap of faith to open a gallery when the art market is still in its nascent,recovery stages? “Things have picked up in India much faster than in the West,” says Foss. “A good barometer was the art fair held in Delhi where you could sense very positive energy whether it was from the gallery owners,organisers or collectors.”

Foss wants his gallery to exhibit all genres of photography—a fact attested to by the eclectic collection in his house which ranges from contemporary works by Sheena Sippy and Ashwin Mehta to historical photographs such as a portrait picture of the Raja of Sunth.

As he gives us a tour of the mini gallery that is his home,he looks regretfully at the carefully packed photographs leaning against the wall,soon to be transferred to the gallery. As though if he thought it feasible,he would tear apart the bubble wrap to showcase the works beneath. “A good photograph will always have a story to tell,” he says. And he looks like he’s itching to tell the stories beneath the bubble wrap.