From Koli lady with Birkin bag to exploring the infinite

She had earlier put up exhibitions in Mumbai at Jehangir Art Gallery, where she had sold her first painting. She has also put on two or three art exhibitions in Pune. Other than that, she has sold over 20 paintings through commission works, catering to individual client preferences and needs.

Her paintings reflect women from five different states while including something iconic from the present era. (Express Photo)

She has been working professionally as an artist for the last five years. Her paintings reflect women from five different states while including something iconic from the present era.

Nineteen of her paintings are featured at Indian Lore, which is being held at Le Plaisir, Prabhat Road, from October 1 to October 31.

“Anything in our folk art, from the animals depicted to the women, are always traditionally attired. Even if we go to a temple we look good to respect the place,” says Anjali.

She said the idea just came to her and that mixing the old with the new was the main idea. Anjali says she is not into Indian folk art nor is she very knowledgeable about it, but she knows there are many people at Le Plaisir who know art. It is something new for everyone of all ages.

Nineteen of her paintings are featured at Indian Lore, which is being held at Le Plaisir, Prabhat Road, from October 1 to October 31.

“The art work which resonates with me is the five ladies for sure because the vibrancy of colours, the differences in lifestyle and in culture, in addition to other things, are so interesting. Imagine a Koli woman sporting a Birkin bag – these bags itself are so difficult for ordinary people to procure since you have to book it in advances and its price can run into crores. It is just an idea of what life could be like. It’s just a thought,” says Anjali.

Devashish Sharma, who lives and practices in Pune, had his works displayed at Vida Heydari Contemporary art gallery this year at an exhibition called A Moment in Infinity. The theme aimed to build upon the pliability of truth as captured by photography as an engagement with an artistic medium that presents outcomes towards an effect which is at once ruptured and unified.

Sharma was born in Gwalior and completed his Bachelors of Fine Arts from Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in 2013. He later pursued a Master’s degree from Shiv Nadar University, Noida, in 2016. His socially engaged themes in his work stems from a deep interest in creating spaces for dialogue and exploring the politics of learning, questioning, and imagining. His practice focuses on asking questions, sometimes answering them, and often pondering the infinite.

Devashish Sharma, who lives and practices in Pune, had his works displayed at Vida Heydari Contemporary art gallery last year at an exhibition called A Moment in Infinity.

He has participated in various group exhibitions across India, with recent shows including Common Ground at VHC in Pune, Road Number Zero at Max Müller Bhawan in Delhi, and Critical Constellations at IGNCA in New Delhi, among others. Over the past few years, he has been involved in several residencies and has received numerous grants. His projects have been supported by the Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art (FICA) in New Delhi and Goethe Institut in New Delhi. He has also been associated with prestigious programmes like What Could/Should Curating Do in Belgrade, Canary Project Space in Pune and most recently, the Saari Residence, Mynämäki, Finland.

While Sharma says he has been drawing and painting for as long as he remembers, he took a break in his education after 12th standard. “I did not want to go to college because I did not want to jump into any field. I was interested in various subjects like Biology, Literature, etc. So I took a gap year and pursued a bunch of different things at the time.”

During this time, Sharma realised that art gave him the freedom and potential to enter many disciplines. His artistic projects since then try to reflect about how history was written, or studying sociology through ways people apologise, how people laugh, etc. “In the gap year, I got time to articulate that I have a diverse set of interests. If I had taken biotechnology it wouldn’t let me have time to study anything else,” he said.

“I have done a bunch of open studios, but have been trying to figure out about gallery space, how to allow people to enter your world,” said Sharma.