Akara opens its second gallery for contemporary art in a heritage structure, giving the SoBo art scene more heft
Meghna and Puneet with Dhruva Mistry’s Doodledom in Cherry Red. Pics/Sameer Markande
We walk into one of the city’s newest art galleries, a 3,000-sq ft space on the second floor of Amarchand Mansion in Colaba. Akara opens its second gallery space for contemporary art in a heritage structure, which will be dedicated to Indian and global contemporary art. It’s our first time in an empty gallery, devoid of art, but it seems to be an ideal setting to inspect the place. In fact, there are a few pieces that will feature in its inaugural art show Let Me Tell You A Story that will open to the public in May. But before we analyse it, we look at the interiors for their tales.
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Last week, the gallery announced its latest milestone with a new look and name. Akara Art now changes to Akara Modern, showcasing modern art at Churchill Chambers, where they have been located since they began art programmes in 2015, and a 10-minute walk from Akara Contemporary, the space we’re at.
One panel of Bhagyashree Suthar’s untitled artwork with pen, ink, charcoal, graphite and silver foil on paper
Built in 1903, Amarchand Mansion has the typical features of structures built during British rule. We’re told that it was built in the Indo-Saracenic style where ‘colonial’ meets Neo-Moorish architecture. The juxtaposition of the old architecture and contemporary minimalistic space is evident the moment you enter the gallery. The double wooden sliding doors open to the entrance — a floor-to-wall charcoal black door that steps into the gallery. Here, architect and interior designer Rajiv Saini creates a vestibule with the door and a glass wall adjacent to it that is layered with a few bookshelves on the inside, offers a peek into the space. “An important consideration that we had to bear in mind was the idea of restraint, to maintain a delicate boundary. The immediate threshold at the entrance where old and new meet, gave us the opportunity to play around,” Saini shares.
Inside and across two showrooms, Saini has stitched the two spaces — old and new —quite seamlessly. The excess ornamentation — added over the years — was removed to cater to the requirement for a neutral blank canvas. But the original wooden windows with stained glass and floral motifs, high ceilings and decorative arches are well-showcased and balance the white-washed space and grey flooring.
Keita Miyazaki’s White Current Exhaust Pipe and Paper, with the original windows and floral motifs in the background
Walking us through the space, we ask the directors Meghna and Puneet Shah about the new gallery. “The exposure, awareness and readiness to learn and absorb contemporary art make it the perfect time to separate both galleries and dedicate one to modern art and the other to Indian and international contemporary art,” Puneet tells us. Meghna points out, “Contemporary art needs scale, and the size of this space is conducive to experimenting with large artworks, sculptures and installations, while being equipped for technical requirements.”
The ongoing theme of juxtaposition continues with the two-part inaugural exhibition by Brazilian-Portuguese curator Luiza Teixeira De Freitas. With the confluence of Indian and global artists, the directors reveal that it will showcase a broad range of what to expect from the gallery. Freitas explains the show’s theme of storytelling, noting, “I have always seen art as a form of visual storytelling. The gallery has a story that belongs to history; so does the building, and its art. Blending them for this turning point so they keep building on Akara’s history is significant.”
Rajiv Saini and Luiza Teixeira de Freitas
Part two of the exhibition will open towards June-end. Freitas has divided the two ‘chapters’ of the story in relation to night-time and daytime — the first comprises the eerie allusion to darkness which awakens and blooms in the second part. “The artists exhibited tell us a story through their works. All art tells a story, which is true, but the secret lies within the stories you pick,” the curator concludes.
On May 2, 11 to 6.30 pm
At Amarchand Mansion, Madame Cama Road, Colaba.
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