Article by Jayanthi Madhukar in Bangalore Mirror

Perfect value

When its art for investment Bangaloreans make for hard-nosed buyers. This latest showing by artchutney.com taps right into that sensibility

Jayanthi Madhukar

Posted On Sunday, May 29, 2011 at 06:50:33 PM

The good thing about online galleries is that they can hold many more shows at various locations across the country. Dubbing these shows as the “moving shows”, Shiraz Vakharia, partner of artchutney.com, an online gallery, talks of minimal overheads in the absence of a brick and mortar establishment and the various tie-ups with establishments that enable them to put up the shows.

The gallery has come up with an art show titled 50.25.10 which is not an implausible date on the calendar but a grouping of 50 works from 25 artists across 10 states. According to Shiraz, the stress of this exhibition is on the quality of works, some done by master artists. “There are works by senior artists like Delhi-based A K Patnaik and Bangalore-based C F John who have their own fan following. Also featured are artists like H R Das and Amol Pawar whose works from the bull series has been displayed,” says Shiraz.

According to her, participating artists like Somu Desai from Gujarat and Vikash are showing for the first time in the city. The works have been sourced from the artists and together, they present an extensive array of media; from oil on canvas to water colours on paper to charcoal drawings. 50.25.10 also has some limited number of sculptures in bronze created by Bangalore-based sculptor Dimpy Menon.

“The idea is to present a rich offering for art lovers and investors,” says Shiraz. With a fuss free online gallery, she finds queries coming in from across the world. “The interest in art is there but Bangalore is not known for impulsive buys. Here, people look at ‘value for money’ buys. So, by giving some attractive buying options we hope to lure some truly interested buyers,” she adds.

Buyers’ gallery
The art show is on at the Art Corridor in hotel Taj West End, “In March 2007, both the Art Corridor and artchutney.com were simultaneously launched. Since then, we have done several shows there,” informs Shiraz.

Raj Bagaria, who is the founder of artchutney.com for the event, sums up the ideology of the show, “We take art to public spaces. Bangalore has some amazing public spaces. The real USP of this show is that it encompasses quality works from all corners of India and they come with different price tags. We believe in curating shows around the space keeping in mind the profile of people coming to space. Our next show will move to a restaurant and we shall have works that will be better suited for impulse buys by diners. That is the basic ideology of artchutney.com. Instead of just showcasing certain artists we would rather make the show more proactive.”

50.25.10 at the Art Corridor, Taj West End, from June 4 to 10.