On the art prowl

As the days become pleasant and evenings turn more adventurous in December the city too offers up more reasons to explore it A day at an art gallery could be the pause and detox you needmdashbetween parties and bar hops In the few weeks between Art Mumbairsquos debut edition and the upcoming Mumbai Gallery Weekend the works on display across institutions in Kala Ghoda Colaba and Khotachi Wadi reflect on natural phenomena invoke old masters and speak to present concernsMoon Dot by Lekha Washington PIC COURTESY47A1 The absence of darknessInterior architect Kunal Shah returns to Khotachi Wadirsquos 47A as the curator of a show examining light as both a physical phenomenon and symbol Shah has assembled artists across disciplines such as textile maker Jayshree Poddar and architect Rooshad Shroff to explore how light and shadow inspire us to see the world ldquoMy interest was in questioning the associations we have with light and darknessmdashhope celebration freedom or fear hopelessness and mystery And this quest led me organically to poets artists designers weavers and storytellersrdquo Shah says Consider Lekha Washingtonrsquos iconic Moon Dotmdasha seat fashioned like the moonmdashor Maharukh Desairsquos vintage sunglasses with green frames Works such as Riyazuddinrsquos miniature paintings which reference classic iconography remind us that the fascination with celestial objects is one we have nurtured since ancient timesOn display till January 6 2024Where 47A Khotachi Wadi GirgaumWhen 11 AM to 7 PM Tuesday to Sunday2 Amrita SherGil A Portrait of ObservationsFor the unacquainted this show at Akara Modern is a great introduction to SherGil and the life experiences that shaped her oeuvre such as her fatherrsquos interest in photography and her own resultant pursuit of selfportraits When watercolour works such as Mrs Eginnah and After We Came Back from Italy are viewed alongside Veeranganakumari Solankirsquos curatorial note we learn about why the artist began employing bolder pencil strokes and chose to focus on the female formOn display till December 16 2023Where Akara Modern 45 Churchill Chambers 1st Floor 32 Mereweather Road ColabaWhen 11 AM to 630 PM TuesdaySaturday3 Add to CartIn spotlighting contemporary artists such as Mohd Intiyaz and Sidhant Gandhi Method effectively draws in the millennial and GenZ art enthusiast who is socially aware At its Kala Ghoda outpost the gallery is hosting a show by multidisciplinary artist Abhay Sehgal who investigates the commodification of our identities and the blurring boundaries between who we are and the objects we own In Curious Case of LV Sehgal depicts a group of men from the mid1880s bewildered by a highfashion hand bag The work Retro Memories set in a storage room comments on the habit of collecting objects that we cherish but never use ldquoIt depicts how current consumerism has made classic retro symbols nearly extincthellip We fail to throw these objects away and they are stored solely for nostalgiardquo Sehgal explainsOn display till 31st December 2023Where Method Kala Ghoda 86 Nagindas Master Rd Kala GhodaWhen 11 AM to 6 PM Wednesday to Sunday