Artmeter

Goenkaacirc;euro;trade;s camp was a platform where established artists like Suhas Roy, Anjolie Ela Menon and Khosa had serious discussions on art and participated with younger names Sanjiv Sonpimpare, Dhiren Kumar Saha, Pransanta Sahoo, Anupam Singh, Srilekha Sikander, Datta Bansode pampered as they are by Vickram Sethi who organises these camps.

But it wasnacirc;euro;trade;t just work all the way Kahini Arte Merchant for one said she was happy to be out of the rat race. Where else could one interact with as many as 25 artists from all over India shutting out the mundane and enjoying the easy-going atmosphere, besides communing with art. A unique and interesting interaction it was. The evening prior to the camp, Geetu Raheja had a hugely successful Erotica opening. Very well-attended, the show The Formations of Fantasy asked the artists to interpret the art of love-making and eroticism. Shakti Maira flew down especially from New York for the show, and Altaf, Jaideep Mehrotra, F N Souza, Manu Parekh, Jogen and Owais Husain participated exploring the differences between pleasure, reality and the element of the amatory. Taoacirc;euro;trade;s Bengal New Ideas and Media was on the same evening so it was art and more art all weekend. Curated by CIMA of Calcutta and hosted by Kalpana Shah of Tao, the works of Arup Ghosh, Dilip Samanta, Sanjay Chatterjee, Sumitro Basak, Abhijit Guptaand Amritah Sen are there to be seen until December 22.

Event: Bharati Kapadiaacirc;euro;trade;s exhibition of Mixed media works Realm of The Elusive.

Works To Be Seen: Bharati has used print screens with thread and stitches, acrylic paint, paper, peepul leaf, charcoal and text to create a unique cache of works in pale pastels, with resultant shadows becoming part of the art. She seems to be experimenting through these shreds of garment, embroidered veils, the imagery and electric energy.

Who Was There: Sakeena Mehta Tyeb could not attend, Ranjit Hoskote, Dillo Mukherji whose ceramic show was on at Sakshi, Jehangir Nicholson who bought one of her works, Akbar Padamsee and Meher Pestonji.

Event: Sujata Bajajacirc;euro;trade;s Energy.
Works To Be Seen: My first introduction to Sujataacirc;euro;trade;s works was when she showed with Raza at Arun Chandraacirc;euro;trade;s gallery Devanagari script, earth colors and layers of water-colour blended to form a rush of brush strokes and spontaneity in her works. There is a consistent development in the interplay of intense expression, form, line and surface. Every once in four years, she organises her own show in India. acirc;euro;oelig;Everywhere else the show is taken care of by other galleries Norwegian and French. This is the only show organised by me, with works from 1997 until 2000 on display.acirc;euro;

Who Was There: Karsten, Deepika, Pheroza Godrej, Dilip De, Bal Chabra, all attended the show at a packed hall in Jehangir.

Event: Bichitra, an exhibit of original paintings of Rabindranath Tagore.
Works to be Seen: acirc;euro;tilde;Shahanaacirc;euro;trade;, the school for Tagore Music and Culture have brought in 50 rare original paintings of Tagore after 48 years. Shobha De, the Guest of Honour, was overwhelmed and spoke of the special place DilipDa and she have for their two Tagore portraits, amongst their entire collection. She was also disappointed because, like all of us, she had expected a more inspired response to an event like this.

Who Was There and What They Brought: Chief Guest Jehangir Sabavala enlightened the audience at the inauguration about Tagore, the Renaissance Man, describing him as a dark introvert expressionist. The event was sponsored by Tara Bangla, of which Shobha is a member.

Event: Jitish Kallatacirc;euro;trade;s solo show Ibid at Gallery Chemould.
Works To Be Seen: There is a linear progression of concerns from earlier work, largely using the self-image as a protagonist. The recent works deal with themes that socialise freely from picture to picture so that a single work speaks more. Maternamortal Momacirc;euro;trade;s Momacirc;euro;trade;s Mom / Momacirc;euro;trade;s Dadacirc;euro;trade;s Mom appears to be within the lineage of ancestral worship until one realises that it evokes the idea of mortality in general.

Who Was There: Just last month Jitish was nominated for this yearacirc;euro;trade;s Sothebyacirc;euro;trade;s Award and now he returns to Chemould and to his patrons the Gandhys after his first hugely successful show, P T O, at this same gallery it had propelled him into prominence. He has since become a name to be reckoned with from amongst the younger emerging artists, and this is his fifth solo show. Chemould was packed on the night of the opening reception with a mix of Jitish collectors and Chemould loyalists.

A collection worth looking at might be the original prints, old maps and antiquarian books that Cymroza previewed just this Monday, entitled Rare Finds, on till December 15. There were some beautiful Raja Ravi Varma Prints, beautiful old books and lithographs. Jamaatacirc;euro;trade;s ongoing show a duet by Gogi Saroj Pal and Ved Nayyar Caring and Sharing should be seen. It is an affordable series of paintings by Gogi, whose works are normally priced on the higher side. The show consists of nearly 200 of their works.