Garhi Artist Studios, also known as ‘Garhi Artists Village’, offers a multidisciplinary art space in East of Kailash, Delhi. I learned it was named ‘Kala Kuteer’ to begin with.
A community studio space for artists is carved out on a Mughal heritage site known as ‘Garhi Jharia Maria’. Some eighteenth-century structures still stand within the campus. The entry gate is part of the boundary wall enclosing the remains of a Chaupal (community space).
While it became well-known for printmaking in its early years, it offers facilities for various mediums, including sculpture, ceramics, graphics and painting. Legendary artists Manjeet Bawa, SMS Jawed and Rajan Fulari are synonymous with Garhi. Budding artists like me flock to the campus to learn the techniques from senior artists.
- I remember having given the finishing touches to my ‘male torso in bronze’ with Sayed Jawed in his studio- no 5; shaped out in clay with Ms. Saro Jain at Triveni.
The rural charm of the complex provides a peaceful and green space where I could work in liberty and give shape to my creativity. Of late, I ventured into ‘stone sculpting’.
The last I was there was with Jawed on Jan, 25. We barged into Mukul Panwar’s studio. His latest works on ‘Aluminum castings’ and ‘The Cat in Stone’ are attractive. Behind his studio, Harkesh was busy in his casting pursuits.
Through the haphazard display of statues and murals, we walked into another studio; I liked ‘Dancer in the Long Boots’. I wonder how clay is camouflaged to look like leather! It is the FIMO effect, perhaps. Maybe, the alphabetical patterns over the attire aim at literacy.
Amid heaps of waste in the complex, I could not trace the ‘red stone’; I had once been working on in the open- next to the parking space.
I feel the academy must ensure the safety and maintenance of the artworks. My artist friend Bhola Kumar has the same views. Perhaps, some works of “M.F. Husain” had disappeared from the complex long ago. HT South Delhi had also reported the issue of artworks languishing in the open at the studio.
- In October 2010, ‘Regional Painting Camp’ at Dalhousie, was inaugurated by Mr Devesh Kumar IAS, the then Deputy Commissioner, Chamba where I was the ‘Guest of Honour.’ It was a pleasure meeting Rajan Fulari and his team of artists.
- The Shimla Centre is a part of the Gaiety Theatre complex. The artists’ workplace, the makeshift studios and the guest house are at Craig Garden. I enjoyed being there at the ‘Wood Sculpture’ event of 2015.
On 17 May 2018, President Ram Nath Kovind appointed Uttam Pacharne, an artist and sculptor, as chairman of Lalit Kala Academy.
On his visit to Shimla, he chaired the ‘painting’ tournament; and to my great honour launched my ‘male torso’ exhibit at Gaiety Theatre.
- India’s National Academy of Art, the Lalit Kala Akademi at Rabindra Bhawan with its various ‘centres’ is an autonomous organization funded by the Union Ministry of Culture.
The National Art Award is one of the awards and honours in India and Asia awarded by Lalit Kala Akademi.
Besides, identifying and showcasing visual art, the institution widens the sphere of interaction where art would further the cause of national unity. The Akademi supports all forms of art — studio, experimental, developmental, ‘folk’, and ‘tribal’.
National heritage of India — ancient, medieval, as well as present trends are all encouraged.
Modernity is amalgamated with inherited, indigenous past.
Art is the act of creating something unique that fascinates our visual or auditory senses. Fine art may also go by “high art” and stands as an artistic expression over functionality. The aesthetics set fine art apart from “low art”, which is crafted with utility in mind.
In the present-day scenario of ‘free art’, I am not sure if any ‘art form’ excels the other. The creation, however, is adored for its feel and get-up. Artists are recognized for their exceptional skills and something different, they come out with.
Prof. (Er.) Chander P Mahajan is an art critic & a free lance journalist. The Environmentalist stays in Shimla and Dalhousie, Himachal Pradesh, India.
