Senior and young artists showcase their works at Rainbows in the Sun this week in Delhi. RANA SIDDIQUI
SAMPLE A work at Rainbows in the Sun exhibition.
Probably this was the time artist and curator Praveen Upadhye was waiting for: the summer, when art activities, especially in Delhi, slow down. This lean period begins at the end of May and remains till early July. Most artists either decide to spend time in the cooler regions of the country and abroad. But art lovers from all walks of life who can’t afford to leave the city feel stranded. There are hardly any significant shows in the art galleries. But this summer
Lalit Kala Gallery in Rabindra Bhawan would keep them busy with a noteworthy show, “Rainbows in the Sun” that brings 100 artists under one roof.
Curated by Upadhye the show has every possible known name that crops up in just about every art show, from Jogen Choudhary to Paresh Maity, from Souza to Laxma Goud and so on. Among the very senior artists, almost everyone one can think of is participating: M.F. Hussain, Tyeb Mehta, K.S. Kulkarni, Jamini Roy, Sohan Qadri, Ganesh Haloi and so on. Artists of repute, like Sanjay Bhattacharyya, Vinod Sharma, Vijender Sharma, Manjit Bawa, A. Ramachandran and many more also share the roof. And the third category is of young artists you may not have heard of: Amit Dutt, Bua Shetty, Bimmi Warsi, Poojar Puri, Shivlala and so on.
Breaking the myth
Says Upadhye who has joined hands with Planet Art and Ishat Art (an online art gallery) to come up with this show, “It is meant to show solidarity in the art fraternity. The general impression about the senior artists is that they feel uncomfortable being showcased with the junior artists. I am trying to break this myth. This show has very young artists who are pushed back because of the dominance of senior artists. And it also has those who have been keeping a low profile, for the art scene is too fast for them. For instance, Tanup Nath, who is Jogen Choudhary’s student but has hardly appeared in Delhi, has two amazing works in the show. Among 20 sculptors, Laxma Goud, B. Vitthal, Kishore Chakravarty and N.S. Rana have prominent works. I have not kept Goud’s regular works but very old ones. Sanjay Bhattacharyya and Sudip Roy’s old watercolours, now nowhere seen, are a part of this show. Tyeb Mehta, Ganesh Haloi, Jatin Das and Bani Prasanna’s drawings, among 20-22, would be one of the major attractions.”
There is no one uniting factor to this show as far as theme is concerned. It is about different views, hues, ideals and ideas. Upadhye’s own two works from his Brahamcharya series would also be on display.
Upadhye is also coming out with another show on only those senior artists who have silently given 40 to 50 years to art but never craved media attention. These artists would be professors of different Indian universities such as Madras, Baroda, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and so on. “Through my Pioneer Art gallery I would felicitate them and showcase their works around August-September this year,” he shares.
“Rainbows in the Sun”, to be inaugurated by Lushin Dubey, opens this evening and continues till May 31.
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