In Delhi/NCR, art is no longer the preserve of the rich, but of those who truly appreciate it.
Proving this are a number of ‘weekend art bazaars’ being held in the City, one of which was ‘Motley Bazaar’ which recently concluded at Alliance Francaise De Delhi.
No less than 19 artists participated in this show with over 135 artworks ranging from paintings and sculptures to photographs.
Art lovers of the city reciprocated with equal passion thronging the venue and making the exhibition uniquely successful.
This is the second edition of Motley Bazaar, the first of which was held in Epicentre, Gurgaon last year.
The founder members of the venture, Da’Strokes, are a group of five Gurgaon-based women artists who decided to provide “affordable art to the interested in the city.”
One of them, Sabrina Gill, informs us, “Rashmee Seengal, Divya Seengal, Tanushree Chatterjee, Ashoo Malik andI met through art, and since then we have made sincere
efforts to put together our means and further the cause of art.”
“We believe art must not be confined to the walls of galleries. Not every art lover is a visitor of galleries; nor is it necessary that only those who can afford seven digit price tags can understand art. It is something that pleases the eye and gladdens the heart, and every person must get the opportunity to experience it. Therefore we came up with the idea of encouraging upcoming artists to sell their work at Motley Bazaar at
affordable prices. Thank-fully, it’s clicked and both artists and art buyers are very happy.”
The group has deftly combined the concepts of both an exhibition and sale.
Motley Bazaar, unlike many curated art shows in the city, has each artist present at the venue to explain his or her artwork.
Sabrina says, “We feel there is a story behind each painting and sculpture and knowing the same can enrich your experience manifold. Therefore we have the artists there to interact with the buyers and also get an instant feedback on their work.”
Like last year, Motley Bazaar edition II was also non-linear and non-thematic.
So artists came up with a wide spectrum of subjects and mediums.
Daya Chand’s ‘Sculpture with birds’ oil and acrylic on canvas sat pretty with Kaveri Ray’s ‘Unseen wisdom’ soft pastel on paper.
Meanwhile ‘Blooming desires’ sculpture in bronze by Anupma shared shelf space with ‘Returning home’ - a photograph of a boat in Kashmir by Anirban Halder.
Da’Strokes is next planning to get ‘performing arts’ onboard.