VADODARA, Aug 17: A unique combination of mediums and moods by the city's artisan was unveiled on Saturday by the `Drawings '98' show of the Nazar Gallery of Contemporary Art. Moving a step ahead of the familiar joint art exhibitions, the city's leading artists have for the very first time confederated on the walls of the same gallery, each portraying a distinct vision through varied mediums such as ink, charcoal, pen, watercolour, dry or oil pastel.Scheduled to be held till August 31, the exhibition will showcase drawings by 48 city-based artists in two phases. Among the famed artists currently featured at the gallery are Bhupen Khakar, Jeram Patel, Jaidev Thakore, Jyoti Bhatt and Nagji Patel. Show 2, which will commence on August 24, will include Gulammohammad Sheikh, Rahul Gajjar, Rini Dhumal, Rekha Rodwittiya and Anandjit Ray, among others.Talking to Express Newsline, Varsha Navin of Nazar said, ``This exhibition marks the beginning of the gallery's annual season. While some of the artists have featured on a common platform on earlier occasions, this exhibition is unusual in the sense that the focus is on `drawings' and not paintings. Each artist has presented his or her interpretation of a drawing using the medium of their choice.''Navin adds that the gallery's priority is to acquaint denizens of the city with the resident artists. ``While the gallery of the Faculty of Fine Arts, M S University is preferred by both artists and art lovers, we thought of Nazar as an alternative to the Fine Arts gallery. The idea was to bring fresh talent out in the open and create awareness among the general public about the many artists in the city and across the country. At the same time, the local talent also got an opportunity to sell their works in their own city instead of having to travel out to Mumbai or other cities.''Started two years ago, Nazar, according to Navin, has been receiving a good response from corporates and Non-resident Indians (NRIs). ``However, the people in this city still haven't got into the habit of walking into an art gallery out of curiosity, only to see what is on show. Once that changes, we can expect a major boost in the field of arts in Vadodara,'' adds Navin.Nazar gallery operates either on a rental basis or by sponsoring shows. The stress, however, has always been on showing good work no matter whether it looks ``saleable'' or not, informs Navin. ``We have an expert panel that decides on what should be exhibited here. So long as the work shows promise and appeals to the masses, it does not matter if it sells or not,'' she says.Reasonably priced literature for art lovers and reprints of paintings published by the Lalit Kala Academy and the National Gallery of Modern Art are also available at Nazar.
