IHC opens doors to 35 artists first time since pandemic

New Delhi: VISUAL artists have found physical space to display their work of art after prolonged restriction of outdoor activities due to the outbreak of the deadly Covid-19 virus. Here at India Habitat Centre, the Visual Art Gallery opened its doors for the artists after 20 long months and hosted an exhibition to celebrate fine art.

At the fourth edition of Artistagram 2021, as many as 35 painters and sculptors displayed their work including hand-drawn paintings and sculptors. The curator of the art gallery, Jyoti Kalra, explained that the gallery had been shut since 2019 but is now ready to host exhibitions to celebrate the creative space.

"We have been organising this event for 4 years but post 2019, we couldn't reopen the gallery. The 18 months' long gap has been hard on artists but each creator got the opportunity to work on their art work for an extensive time. We are hoping that by resuming such shows, artists will once again gain a wider audience for their work

Suryasnata Mohanty, Deputy Director, Corporate Communication, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Odisha, spoke with Bizz Buzz on her participation in the event. "Through my painting, I choose to depict the archaeology of our existence in an abstract form, which is why it is named Antartatwa. It conveys how we are all connected in this never-ending cycle."

A lawyer by profession, Mohanty says her calling to painting was natural, and have been teaching and practicing law by profession. On the scope of exhibitions supporting artists post pandemic, Mohanty explained that she is optimistic of the future for the creative space.

"During Corona period, artists were the ones who ustilised their time to the fullest. And now it is yielding results. Physical spaces are once again hosting exhibitions, the show must go and on and it will go on," Mohanty added.

Another prodigy at the exhibition is 13 years old Vrinda Jharia, the youngest participant out of 35, who showcased two of her paintings. Her father Siddharth Jharia, who also showcased his paintings, said that it is the third exhibition participation for his daughter.

"I follow facial expressions and capture the everyday life of people, whereas Vrinda paints animals and birds. We have two very different styles of paintings and I'm proud of the fact. For an artist, it is important to have their own unique style and not copy others. This is what I tell my daughter," said Jharia, an architect by profession.

The exhibition also holds painting by renowned artist Virendra Sharma, whose master painting depicting Meera Bai, has been marked for Rs 12 lakh to be sold.

Kalra explained that all the art work will be sold off over the course of 1 month, via online mode. "While the pandemic did bring in too many hardships for artists, the potential to capture more buyers online has been immense. On a daily account, we get 1000 visitors from the website. Some of the paintings have been bought by customers based in Brazil."