A new chapter for art

Untitled, Manjunath Kamath. Pics/Sameer Abedi

Anish Gawande hasn't had a haircut this month. He conceals his frustration in a joke when we meet at Colaba's Sakshi Gallery, and although it's funny for a conversation starter, it only gives an insight into his journey of having to curate an exhibition, within a month, aged 23. It's not a solo show either, but rather a display of over 50 works by 45 artists, including some of the city's most famous names. The show titled Katarvel is the first public exhibition that showcases the works from The Foundation B&G, an offshoot of the noted publishing house Popular Prakashan.

A Rhodes scholar-elect, Gawande is also the founder and director of the Dara Shikoh Fellowship, an interdisciplinary arts residency based in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. His tryst with "Popular", as it is commonly referred to, began from childhood, rooted in Prabhadevi's Twin Tower Lane where both Gawande and the publishers are based. Having graduated with a degree in comparative literature and society from Columbia University, his background ties in well with the ethos of this exhibition. He recognises that he is very much an outsider in the art world, but then again, that's the sort of perception that the show is trying to challenge.

Geeta Mehra and Anish Gawande

Apart from publishing art books, between 2005 and 2012, B&G brought writers and theorists - including Atul Dodiya, Lalu Prasad Shaw, Laxma Goud and Rekha Rodwittiya - together for over 20 art camps conducted globally. Unlike commercial ventures, the camps enabled artists to work sans the pressure of timelines.

Ardhanareshwari by KS Radhakrishnan

Geeta Mehra, director of Sakshi Gallery, regards Popular's effort to transcend the boundaries of publishing and venture into visual art - as well as theatre, music and food - as ground-breaking. "At the camps, you'd find a combination of well-known artists as well as those who weren't as established," Mehra shares, adding, "A lot of artists were travelling overseas for the first time thanks to these camps and travel does impact your thinking. Many artists will be coming for the opening, so it will be nostalgic."

Untitled, Arunkumar HG

The collection spans a range of mediums and styles, and the personal meets the political. Veer Munshi's Patient Welder echoes Gandhi's statement of associating the Kashmir region with peace, which speaks volumes of today's scenario. One can also get a glimpse of the artists' camp trips. Sunil Gawde's work, for instance, is an interpretation of the Egyptian pyramids he didn't actually get to see due to a dust storm. Gawande also plans to attach 30-second audio clips in English and Marathi to give context to every piece, and to make this show accessible to all. The word Katarvel hopes to convey that, too. He shares, "It means, 'When the day scissors into the night'. It allows me to touch upon the multilingualism that is lost today. I want the show to be this stick that pokes people to reignite that flame and understand what it means to separate the vernacular and the anglophone."

ON February 27, 6 pm to 9 pm (preview);
TILL March 31, 11 am to 6 pm
AT Sakshi Gallery, 3rd Pasta Lane, Railway Colony, Colaba.
CALL 66909191

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