Zeenat Aman, Mahrani Gaikwad at India Fine Art Event

India Fine Art on Friday, 18th March opened thier latest show under the title Neela Varnam or Reinventing Traditions. The exhibition displays works by renowned artist Ramesh Gorjala, who specializes in the Kalamkari style of painting.

With 80% of the paintings being sold on preview night Manvinder Dawar (owner India Fine Art) was a very happy man. When asked how does it feel to taste the success of a show on its opening night itself, he answered, “When Gorjala approached me for the show, one look at his works and I was sure that it would be a grand success, I never had a doubt on how great the results would be.”

The preview was hosted by Manvinder was attended by popular faces on the Mumbai Art circuit. However having Ritiesh Deshmukh drop by at the gallery to have a look at the paintings was quite a surprise. Maharani Gaikwad with her daughter in law Praggya was seen in an animated conversation with the artist over the intricacies of painting and how much time it takes to create a master piece; she truly seemed in awe of the work on display.

Artists Ajay De, Mrityunjay Mondal, Devangana Chhabbria, Gurcharan Singh and Yashwant Deshmukhwho have followed Gorjala’s work for years were present at the exhibition to show their support to him. Suresh Menon was also seen at the preview.

Gorjala’s signature style is built around one central protagonist and into this body, the artist builds an intricate web of narratives and figures. Central characters like Ganesha, Hanuman, Shiva and Vishnu are what the viewer first sees. However on closer inspection one becomes aware of a number of smaller figures worked into the surface.

One can trace this approach and style back to some of the 15thand 17th century miniature paintings from Rajasthan.

Reinventing Tradition will be on display at India Fine Art gallery till the 1st of April 2011.