Art for a cause

The mesmerising beauty of nature has been captured by artist Saket Mehendale in his works on display at the Darpan Art Gallery. The proceeds from the exhibition will go to the NGO ResQ, which provides medical aid to stray animals

Walk into Darpan Art Gallery and you will see arching branches, the beauty of foliage and the warm colours of spring captured on canvases. The 50 works on display are paintings made by artist Saket Mahendale over a span of a year. The proceeds from the exhibition will go to ResQ, a non-profit organisation which provides medical assistance to stray dogs and cats. For 27-year-old architect Saket Mehendale, art has been part of his life since a very young age. The paintings being exhibited include works in water colours, pastels and gel pen. "I have done two exhibitions earlier but for the first time, I will be giving away the proceeds to an NGO," says Mehendale.

Art works by Saket Mahendale

Working as an architect with a private firm, Mehendale took a year's break just to concentrate on art. "I have always been interested in art but it was only in 2007 that I started taking it seriously. In 2009, I took a year off and made a lot of paintings then," he explains. Mehendale captures the beauty of nature in his paintings. The whites and pinks of bougainvillea showering the balconies underneath, the tall supari gardens, the deeply enigmatic water lilies are merged together on canvas to create remote, solitary, dreamy spaces. A park bench under a tree, a cozy house hidden behind foliages or a pavilion by a lake with a sitar on white cushions form Mehendale's subjects.u00a0Miniature paintings were his inspiration and the wish to escape the city's madness was the trigger for his art works. At the exhibition, you can also see Konkan seahores and mornings at the water lily gardens of Saras Baug on display.

Till: June 21
At: Darpan Art Gallery, Kalachhaya center, opposite Vikhe Patil School, near Patrakar Nagar, off Senapati Bapat Road.
Call: 9822001040

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