05 October,2024 08:30 AM IST | Mumbai | Ela Das
Chatterjee & Lal was founded by husband and wife duo Tara Lal and Mortimer Chatterjee in 2003. Pic/Shadab Khan
I think I'm finally at a point where I can say I'm confident about this," Tara Lal humbly chuckles, discussing the inevitable imposter syndrome that got the better of her through the years running the Colaba-based art gallery Chatterjee & Lal with husband Mortimer Chatterjee. As the duo celebrate 20 years in the business, they recall how they met while working at a British auction house in Delhi in the early noughties. "We'd discuss how we wanted to work with artists our own ageâ¦," she recalls, "artists who were still alive so we could interact with them. We chose Bombay because I wanted to move out of Delhi after living there for 32 years, and Mort was quite entrenched in the art market here."
At the time, the landscape of art galleries in the city was a stark contrast to today, with only a few spaces sporadically showcasing young contemporary artists, mostly in group shows. "We wanted to add our voice to that ecosystem," Chatterjee says, explaining how they registered their gallery name in April 2003, followed by their wedding a little over a year later.
"So, Chatterjee & Lal was before Chatterjee and Lal!," she laughs. "We were so young and fearless at that age - not worried about working together as a couple, no idea where the money would come from, we just jumped into it, everything progressed naturallyâ¦" Chatterjee points out how the art world has always been conducive to husband-wife teams internationally and historically. "The world was your oyster in the art market at the time, because artists didn't have solid representation and were not dedicated to a single gallery. They'd showcase with one gallery and then move onto the next in a couple of months. So, you could just pick up the telephone and ask any artist who you really wanted to work with," Chatterjee recalls, with Lal describing how most young artists had to independently book a place at Jehangir Art Gallery to exhibit their work.
"Also, our art history was a lot more set; everyone knew who the big major artists were. As a result, a lot of artists had gone by the wayside and hadn't been given the recognition they deserved⦠oftentimes they wouldn't be alive. Quite early on, we realised that was a niche we could productively fill - creating a platform for younger, cutting-edge talent along with showcasing historical material - bringing both together to create a conversation," the duo say, emphasising the philosophy they've continued to practise for the past two decades.
Working together as a couple does have its challenges at times with "personal and professional always crossing over," Lal admits, "What Mort and I make is put back in the gallery, there's no outside investment, and we've elected to show work that's been more cutting edge, which has at times been a difficult risk. It isn't always glamorous. We've worked with artists our own age who faced their own challenges." Chatterjee adds, "Losing other galleries down the street made me nervous."
The couple's first exhibit showcased Amrita Sher-Gil's work at Ruia House on Mount Pleasant Road at Malabar Hill. "We wanted to have the show against an art deco space, which is the bungalow's style, and we displayed it in Aditya's [Ruia, art dealer and founder, Bombay Art Gallery] living room," shares Lal.
This was followed by a Nasreen Mohamedi retrospective - a first since the one her family put together in 1991, a year after her death. Exhibited in Chatterjee and Lal's initial space housed within a humble 200-square-foot room near Regal cinema, the couple went on to showcase 13 shows in a span of eight months there. "We lacked breathing room, literally and figuratively, because the moment you got out you'd be behind the Woodside kitchen smelling onions and chillies being chopped," Chatterjee exclaims.
The couple went on to hold several shows at Jehangir Nicholson Gallery of Modern Art, housed at the NCPA at the time, between 2006 and 2007. "How did we find the space?" Lal asks Chatterjee, who ponders a few possibilities, till lamenting he "can't possibly remember, but it was cheap as chips and we had lots of shows there!"
After months of working out of their own home "and complaining about it non-stop", Chatterjee's father, who was visiting the city, chanced upon an advertisement for their current space in a newspaper, "rang up the broker, and an hour later, had us standing in this space! Previously held by Cuestix Snooker Parlour with lurid blue walls, a massive termite nest, and all the heritage details boarded up, like these grand iron pillars. I thought we're going to have a tough time removing all of this!" Lal shakes her head. But the duo liked the energy in the space, and being neighbours with a slew of galleries cropping up next door. "And there was Voodoo downstairs, where Led Zeppelin once performed in 1972!" Chatterjee boasts.
Starting with Sophie Ernst - a German artist and partner of Pakistani contemporary artist Rashid Rana, whose work was displayed at the first gallery - the duo displayed mixed media, installations, videos and photography for "a very immersive experience as our first show here, and also to showcase the gallery and the programming we'd want to continue putting forward," Lal explains.
Looking back at the past couple of years, the couple points out how they still represent 90 per cent of the artists they first showcased at their current space, "but a lot has changed with the art scene and how one markets the art⦠largely because of social media now. Back then, there was a Page 3 culture, everything was preview-oriented and all about visibility. You had to have Bollywood involved, and during the boom between 2005 to 2008, everyone from models to young actresses were art dealers. If you were part of the Page 3 set, it just added to your brand value," says Lal.
Chatterjee suggests newer galleries and artists might face a trickier time today. "When galleries launch, they begin with artists of their own generation, growing along with them, adding new artists who fit within that form of programming. If you set up a gallery in 2024, the most interesting artists of today do not have practices that lend themselves to gallery contexts - often working with community engagement or collective actions and protests. This isn't a two-dimensional, wall-hung tool⦠so if you're an artist of this generation, where do you go to find a voice? The platforms that are most conducive for these artists are perhaps biennials or residencies."
While the couple has had their fair share of ups and downs, they've carved out their own path over the years. "We've always gone against the tide through the years, like not signing up for every art fair across the globe today⦠or even signing up for them back when we were very young, like Art Dubai, Art Basel, Friezeâ¦"
Lal looks back, describing how several galleries have closed down over time due to the financial burdens of these fairs. "It's taken us a long time to feel confident with what we do, but we're comfortable with it now," she adds, with Chatterjee laughing, "You think you're the youngster in the room and then everyone's suddenly calling you uncle!"
