Mumbai: Home to several noted art galleries and contemporary art weeks, Mumbai finally gets its own art fair for the first time after Delhi and Bengaluru. Titled, Art Mumbai, the art fair will be held from November 16-19 at the Mahalaxmi Race Course.
Envisioned by Minal and Dinesh Vazirani of Saffronart, Nakul Dev Chawla of the Chawal Art Gallery, New Delhi, and Conor Macklin, director, of Grosvenor Gallery, London, the four-day event will feature more than 53 galleries from different cities of India, the Middle East, London, and New York.
Expect to witness the length and breadth of Indian art, from the works of modern artists like M F Hussain, SH Raza, Krishen Khanna, and Amrita Sher-Gil to huge installations by the likes of Paresh Maity. Besides showcasing engaging art and different facets of the art ecosystem, Art Mumbai will feature a host of events such as heritage walks to Koliwada, dinners at art collectors’ homes, a discussion on Indian cinema and culture with Karan Johar and a walk-through at the sculpture garden. A couple of panel discussions, film screenings and other cultural programs are expected to take place to provide a platform for art collectors and art lovers.
“We had been thinking of organising an art fair in Mumbai before the COVID-19 outbreak. Now it feels like the right time as the art market has gained quite a momentum in Mumbai,” says Dinesh Vazirani.
Potpourri of Modern and Traditional Art
All the galleries showcasing their artwork at the Art Mumbai are trying to add an element that spotlights the city. For instance, there will be Bombay-centric photos by Chemould Prescott Road. There will also be a series of pictures of Pushpamala N’s Phantom Lady-2 where she poses as a stunt woman as well as a lead actor. There will also be the works of Shakuntala Kulkarni featuring different parts of the city with Gigi Scaria’s photographs of Bandra-Worli sealing in the background before it was completed.
Some of the other artist line-ups include names like Krishen Khanna, SH Raza, and Kiran Nadar of the Museum of Art, Delhi to pay homage to Vivan Sundaram, Akbar Padamsee from Grosvenor, and Dubai-based Volte Art Project, which is going to present a work by Serbian performance artist Marina Abramović.
Portrait of Amrita Sher-gill's husband Victor Egen | FPJ
Diverse presentation
There will also be cubicles reserved for a cross-section of Indian art and artists. There will be works by NS Bendre, KG Subramanyan, Gulamohammed Sheikh, Nilima Sheikh, and Bhupen Khakhar among others by Sarjan Art Gallery. Some of the contemporary art will be showcased by galleries like Tarq, Blueprint.12, Shrine Empire, and Gallery XXL.
One of the attractions of the Art Mumbai will be the rare artworks of celebrated artists such as Amrita Sher-Gil, Akbar Padamsee, Ganesh Pyne, Prabhakar Barwe, and Jagdish Swaminathan in a group exhibition, Tales of Transcendence by Progressive Art Gallery. On the walls will be a portrait of Amrita Sher-Gil's husband Victor Egan from 1939 touted to be the last portrait by the artist.
“This exhibition takes one on a captivating journey through their works, each a tale of transcendence in its own right. Through their creativity, these five remarkable artists have achieved precisely that transcending the confines of convention and offering us a glimpse into the limitless expanse of human imagination and expression,” said Harsh Vardhan Singh, director of Progressive Art Gallery.
Oil-on-Canvas painting by Akbar Padamsee | FPJ
