2 to Tango

Besides having recently charmed Saryu Doshi of the National Gallery of Modern Art by designing the whole plan for the first floor of her Ideas and Images V exhibition, Patel is also known to advise his clients about the right art for their interiors. De, of course, needs no introduction.

Naturally, the girls now have the media and art world buzzing. These are not the only instances of artist-patron chemistry. A trip down memory lane reveals the time when Sunil Padwal was ‘discovered’ by none other than Harsh Goenka.

‘‘He was an illustrator who couldn’t dream of anything bigger than 6×6 cm. Now six feet isn’t enough,’’ chuckles Goenka, who is currently collecting Riyas Komu, an artist from Kerala. ‘‘Komu is very intense and could be the next big thing after Atul Dodiya,’’ says Goenka.

Then we have Bose Krishnamachari and Pritish Nandy; the latter even got his protégé a studio to work out of.

Other examples? There’s art dealer Ashish Balram Nagpal and Chintan Upadhyay, and collector Czaee Shah and Jitish Kallat.

So, just how does this coming together happen? ‘‘When I came upon her painting in a gallery, it was a moment of serendipity and I knew that I had fallen in love at first sight,’’ says De.

The work was bought immediately and hung in De’s farmhouse by the sea in Alibaug. And as word of mouth spread, it wasn’t long before Vijay Mallya wanted one too.

In Khandwala’s case, the dynamic with Patel is more like that of a big brother who knows a lot about art, and also has wealthy clients . ‘‘I was suggesting some painters’ names for her father Ashwin Khandwala’s interiors when Payal just butted in with ‘why are you suggesting all this abstract mumbo-jumbo when I’m such a good painter?’” says Patel. Obviously, Khandwala junior’s braggadocio caught Patel off-guard and he took notice right then and there.

Khandwala had already swapped commerce for fashion designing and was then training under Krishna Mehta. ‘‘We began talking and it came up she wasn’t really happy with fashion designing,’’ says Patel who became her confidante.

Patel and Khandwala went into a huddle and it was decided that she would follow her instincts and become a painter.

Latur painter Nitin Utge also has an admirer and benefactor in architect Amar Kesarkar. A nexus that has worked wonders for the career of this struggling artist. From Kala Mahavidyalaya, Pune, to being included in Osian’s auction is indeed a long journey and knowing Kesarkar has certainly helped. ‘‘I was struck by his colour sense and his dedication to portraying child labour. Six years later, I’m happy to see how he’s evolved,’’ says Kesarkar, who started Utge off with commissioned works at his site projects.

Kallat is in the big league now, but old buddy Czaee Shah is still his favourite lady. Kallat’s big show at the Habitat Centre, New Delhi, in 2001, curated by Shah, was a watershed for the artist, who is in no hurry to forget his one-time mentor.

‘‘Czaee and me have a very good energy. She gets all my jokes and laughs at them,” says Kallat. “More importantly, she gets my art.’’