Art show for the aam aadmi

A new art show explores our favourite passions gods, Bollywood and cricket in a bid to make art accessible to the common man

In all earnestness, Harsh Goenka, chairman of RPG Enterprises and an avid art collector, tells us that his new art show Goddesses, Cinema & Cricket, expects the common man to walk into the art gallery and "react to an artwork on the same plane as the artist."

Post Meridiem by Jitish Kallat

There has been a conscious effort to not stand on a pedestal and promote esoteric subjects. Goenka and his team at RPG Academy for Arts & Music have made it easy for junta too -- by choosing pop culture themes including religion, cricket and Bollywood.

Unlike most art exhibitions, where the express intention is to work with artists and artwork that sells, Goenka's aim with Goddesses, Cinema & Cricket is to showcase good quality art even to the man on the street. "The artworks use cutting edge media and explore trends in art. Our target audience is not the art critic but the common man and we want to talk to him in a language that he understands," says Goenka, who has been organising such art shows for the past 15 years.

"Religion, cricket and Bollywood have a strong influence on our society and, in a way, these unify the nation," believes Goenka. Nearly 26 artists participating in the show explore the various nuances of these subjects. Apart from paintings, photographs and sculptures, the exhibition will also include new media works like video, projections, digital works, etc.u00a0

Considering the first few World Cup matches have been predictably dull, one-sided encounters, we suggest you head to this exhibition to experience some real on-field excitement.

Till March 2, 11 am to 7 pm at Jehangir Art Gallery, MG Road, Kala Ghoda. Call 22048212 / 22843989