Art Inc. and Vis-a-Vis are galleries that have made their names in different fields. Art Inc. director Prima Kurien has already made a name for herself as one of our more discerning gallery owners with a genuine flair for style, while Amit and Hardeep Gupta of Vis-a-Vis Gallery are well known for presenting creditable design shows and arranging sponsorships for them. When the two come together, it is a good move for the art world.As a result, their maiden exhibition, at the Art Inc. venue at Shahpur Jat, lives up to one's expectations. Their show is called 999 because the maximum price of the objects created by the artists and displayed at the show has been pegged at Rs 999, often a tenth of their value as in the case of Probir Gupta's excellent mixed media boxes, which naturally sold out.There is an excellent wall ensemble by Shambhavi, painted cricket balls in champagne glasses by Shiela Makhijani, T-shirts by Amitava Das and Moni Rai, and excellent forms by Shalini Vichitra that serve as lamps and table objects. Organic ceramics by Shiela Bhattacharya and Leena Batra's creations too were snapped up, as were Sandeep Biswas's excellent photographs.However, with some 40 artists in the show, one does feel that Atul Sinha, the sculptor who has been working consistently at the concept of Art for Use for over 15 years, and very successfully, if his last exhibition at Art Konsult is anything to go by, ought to have been included. But it is good to know that what was a lonely quest of a single artist for so long, has now become a trend.This development was long overdue, as it is art that gives design its contemporaneity and its value for the future. Indeed, such a blend of art and designs has a long and glorious history, including the setting up of the Bauhaus, with the leading artists of the time involved in the experi-ment, which finally was put an end to by that painter of kitsch, Adolf Hitler, as "degenerate art".Such experiments at democratising art and good taste as a counter to the bad taste we are treated to constantly in what our newspapers portray as `celebrity' lifestyle, are a good thing. This is a show to visit and pick up something from. And one's sharp eye is likely to be well-rewarded.- Suneet Chopra
