Artmeter

Event: Inauguration of photography exhibit From the Beginning by Israeli photographer Shai Ginott

The Show Unfolds: Shortly after Dov Steinberg, the Israel Consul General, hosted the dinner to introduce some of Bombayacirc;euro;trade;s theatre and art lovers to Orna Porat the acirc;euro;tilde;first ladyacirc;euro;trade; of Israeli Theatre, he teamed up with good friend Zarir Cama CEO, Hong Kong Shanghai Bank to hold a reception for this photography exhibit. The unusual aspect of the show however was that it was held not at a museum or a gallery but inside the heritage building of Hong Kong Bank at Flora Fountain. The show is on until January 20 and will travel to Ahmedabad, Cochin and Baroda.

Watch out for: Shai Ginott is an Israeli Biologist, fine arts and nature photographer who has displayed her imaginary landscapes composed of two photos superimposed on one another. All the pictures have been taken in Israel ranging from the Negev desert and the Mediterranean coast, the sea of Galilee, the dead sea to the snow capped peak of Mount Hermon.

Who Was There: After the inaugural lamp was lit by Zarir Cama and Dov there was a tabla performance by Krishnaraj Iyengar through which the invitees mingled and were invited to write their observations and thoughts about the show. Jehangir Nicholson, Bachi Karkaria and other art lovers were there. Zarir is a patron of the arts and has been known to host serious and well orchestrated events like the last one which was the inaugural extravaganza of world fashionhouse Ermenegildo Zegna for the cause of heritage preservation.

Another memorable event hosted by them was the Christiesacirc;euro;trade; auction for the National Association for the Blind. In addition, this year HSBC is the principal sponsor for the Kala Ghoda Festival.

Event: Millennium Show A century of Art from Maharashtra at the Nehru Centre The Show Unfolds: Curated by director Neela Shinde, a wide gamut of acclaimed painters and sculptors of the past century were on display. It was touching to see the younger genre felicitating the older artists. The show was divided into two parts and works from the student days up until their recent works were on display.

Watch out for: It is interesting to see the old school juxtaposed with the new, historic works by Pestonji Bomanji, Pithawala, Haldankar, Mhatre, Husain, Gaitonde, Raza, Dhond, Mali, Bendre and others like Satwalekar, Badri Naryan, Ara, Souza, Bakre, Raiba, Hebbar, Shivax Chavda were on display. It was a momentous occasion where all these works were under one roof and it could not possibly be drunk in at one time. The show demands several visits to imbibe the panorama of Bombay art history.

Who Was There: Govind Swarup, Secretary, Culture at the Government of Maharashtra, Kekoo Gandhy, Mali the artist, Art Historian Nalini Bhagwat and what was refreshing to see were the spectrum of art students present to celebrate the show.

Event: Eden Revisited the anniversary cocktail of Art MusingsThe Show Unfolds: Each artist interpreted Eden in their own way, Anjolie spoke of the apple through her canvas, acirc;euro;oelig;How boring paradise must have been without it the appleacirc;euro;, while Baiju combined computer culture, medieval romance and symbolism to portray his ideology, acirc;euro;oelig;We all live in private universes generated and maintained through the choices we make in lifeacirc;euro;. Samir Mondal through his customary vibrance and the spontaneity of his brush strokes conveyed a plethora of emotions that Eden conjured up for him.

Watch out for: A cache of well known names like Shakti Burman, Satish Gujral, Husain, Raza, Anjolie Ela Menon and Paresh Maity, Baiju Parthan and Arpana Caur worth a look at this quaint gallery nestled in a bylane of Colaba.

Who Was There: Reminiscent of the inaugural of this gallery there was a plethora of models Shantiacirc;euro;trade;s daughter is a stylist and choreographer in the Modelling world. Many of the artists Anjolie Ela Menon, Paresh Maitey, Samir Mondal, Kahini Merchant looking lovely and a handful of socialites like Arti Surendranath and husband of course, Sheetal Bhagat, Anju Taraporewala.

Event: Preview to the work acirc;euro;tilde;Modus Vivendi/ 1000 People-1000 Homesacirc;euro;trade; installed at Gallery Chemould.

The Show Unfolds: The work will be permanently housed in the atrium of an Indo-Spanish joint venture company called Interiors Espania. It was the largest work that Jitish has done so it was important for him to share it with the Bombay art world. The core concerns in this work are consistent with those of his works in general birth, death, survival and mortality. acirc;euro;oelig;While the meanings generated by the image is of great importance to me, I was at all times alert to the dynamics of that large space.acirc;euro;

Watch Out For: The 8 feet vertically by 20 feet horizontally painting comprises large self-images on either side that pose almost like guardians carrying organs of the body as if they are trophies of endurance; whilst another carries a wreath made up of hands at work instead of a wreath of flowers. Another panel shows a thick Bombay crowd juxtaposed with the image of an animal going about the business of feeding itself. It is through such metaphorical evocations that he constructs the narrative.

Who Was There: Laxman Shreshtha with wife Sunita, Nalini Malani and several others came throughout the day and later moved on to the Jamaat Anniversary party which was on the same day.

Event: Second Anniversary celebration of Jamaat

The Show Unfolds: It was a group show of younger artists and Pravina chose these promising lesser known names to mark the second successful year of Jamaat as one of the objectives of the gallery is to give a platform to those artists that have immense talent and promise but have not found recognition among the art lovers of Bombay.

Watch out for: The works of Hema Upadhyay, Kiyomi, Setal Kshirsaagar, Sheetal Gattani, Pandit Khairnar, Yashwant Deshmukh were on display, abstracts of different media and evocative they have been chosen for their sensitivity, sense of style and colour.

Who Was There: The gallery had a party like buzz to it and was one of the better attended shows at Jamaat that I have been to. Nalini Malini who drove in with me told of the offbeat show she is planning at Sakshi early next year. At the moment she is one of the participants for the Bombay show at the Tate Gallery London. Padmini Mirchandani the publishing Director of IBH came with her daughter; artists Jitish and Reena Kallat, Anjali Sen, ex-director NGMA Delhi, Preeti Vyas Gianetti.