KOLKATA: Art galleries in the city are back to their normal routine. Not only are important exhibitions being hosted, many artists, who last exhibited before the pandemic, are returning with shows. According to gallery owners, the audience turnout at openings is flattering now. In some galleries, there is a waiting period of over a month for fresh bookings.
Shika Roy, the curator of Birla Academy of Art and Culture, told TOI. “Everything is normal. One has to wait till May to get a booking at our big gallery.” At Gallery Sanskriti, the recent inauguration of Shuvaprasanna’s solo show titled ‘Faces — A race from epic’ drew a flattering response with the presence of education minister Bratya Basu, Harsh Neotia and Madhu Neotia, among others. “During the pandemic, art-lovers have got in touch with me to buy online. I am exhibiting after three years and presenting a wondrous panorama of characters from the Mahabharata in vibrant colours as well as in black,” said Shuvaprasanna.
Kolkata Centre for Creativity (KCC) hosted four big exhibitions in February, including ‘Essential Forms: An Exhibition of MF Husain’s Cut-Outs’ and ‘The Satyajit Ray Centenary Show (Volume I)’. “People are coming in and spending a lot of time at the shows,” said KCC chairperson Richa Agarwal. Recently, The Harrington Street Art Centre opened Chandra Bhattacharjee’s show titled ‘Santiniketan’, curated by Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya. “It was like back to the pre-pandemic days. For a week from March 30 onwards, we have a show of students from Rabindra Bharati University,” said Noni Khullar, the owner of The Harrington Street Art Centre. Enquiries from buyers have also come in. The Academy of Fine Arts in association with Mukta Shilpa recently presented Ashit Paul’s retrospective exhibition titled ‘Samay Chinha’ curated by Hiran Mitra. “Over 100 people came for the opening. Even elderly artists are returning. Most of our six galleries are full till June,” said Kallol Bose, joint secretary, executive committee of The Academy of Fine Arts.
