Painting my small town a light shade of scarlet …

August 1, 2024, was the 133^rd birth anniversary of Gujarat’s kalaguru, Ravishankar Raval (1892-1977). A Renaissance Man, Ravishankar Raval was an artist, teacher, critic, author, journalist, essayist, editor, founder-publisher of the cultural magazine, Kumar (established in January 1924). His influence spread over more than two-three generations of artists and writers in the pre- and post-Independence decades, whom he guided with a loving sense of responsibility and honesty. Though he himself studied art at the J J School, Mumbai, when the young Gulam Sheikh from Surendranagar reached out to him for guidance, he pointed to the Faculty of Fine Arts in the newly established M S University of Baroda, as the right place to go to. He could not have been more bang on target

Ravishankar Raval’s post-card correspondence with the young Gulam Sheikh. Pic courtesy Sarjan Art Gallery.

Keeping the kalaguru at the centre, Sarjan Art Gallery and Gujarat Art Society celebrated his contribution to the evolution of art in the state by organizing on August 1, a talk, Being Contemporary, by art historian Dr. Deepak Kannal, and the 3^rd Annual Contemporary Art Exhibition of more than 75 artists domiciled in Gujarat, which was inaugurated by Rajmata Shubhanginiraje Gaekwad. Obviously, a 58-year-old painting by Ravishankar Raval, welcomed the visitors to the exhibition. A small work in the collection of Hitesh Rana of the Sarjan Art Gallery, the painting portrayed Lord Shiva and Parvati in an intimate and quiet, nocturnal moment in their abode in the Himalayas. The full moon brightens up part of the hilly landscape covered in a nightly blue, the trees standing in dark silhouettes, as a huge white Nandi sleeps nearby. Created in a style that was popular in those times – some amount of realistic naturalism mixed with imaginative fantasy – the artist was probably looking at capturing feelings of ‘human’ warmth and physical abandonment that would exist in a happy conjugal life. All portrayed with sensitivity and dignity.

Painting by Kalaguru Ravishankar Raval. Sorry for the extremely poor image. I can’t see anything objectionable. Can you?

But the painting appeared to wave a red flag at the self-appointed guardians of our faith who immediately created a controversy around it and forced the gallery to take it off the wall. Imagine. I thought I would never live to see the day that a painting by Kalaguru Ravishankar Raval would be forced off a gallery wall in Baroda. And that a newspaper like Gujarat Samachar would actually write about it and give the matter and such elements the publicity they crave for but certainly do not deserve. Shame on you. And I am still trying to figure this out – would the trouble-mongers (and I have really not heard of any active Sanatan Hindu group/s in my small town) have actually gone to the Gallery and threatened them with violence/harm of any kind? Certainly did not seem any of them were there on the opening evening of the exhibition that was so jam-packed that visitors had spilled over onto the outside staircase. Or, then did whoever write that piece in the newspaper did it out of his/her own ignorance/imagination/ideological bent/desire to get some local level ‘breaking’ news come-up-man-ship?

Paintings by Nikita Parikh, Ahmedabad.

Anyway, while I am saddened by all of this and it just puts one more nail in the coffin called ‘Sanskarnagari Vadodara’, I do not want to take away from the enthusiasm of the show that offered a much-needed platform to more than 60 artists (besides the known ones, of course) from across the several small towns and cities of Gujarat whose artworks are on display. The Gujarat Art Society (estd. 2021) is an organization, formed with the express aim to identify, without

Glass and metal sculpture by Gagji Monpara who teaches art in the Reliance School in Jamnagar.

prejudice, talented young and mid-career artists in the state, and offer them a chance to share their artworks via such a large annual group show. They began with a major show at the Jahangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, in the post-COVID period, and in the last two years, their shows have been held in Ahmedabad (which is becoming more active culturally than Baroda), and this year they chose Baroda, while next year it is likely to be Surat. Surat’s art school scene has changed dramatically for the better over the last decade – many talented young artists from Baroda have moved there as teachers and are doing a good job. However, the Gujarat Art Society is now planning to shift the exhibition to a post-monsoon period from the present August 1 (Raval birth anniversary), as the unpredictable weather has been a hindrance, but it is a tough decision to take.

Ceramic sculpture by Krishna Popalia.

One of the chief movers and shakers behind the formation and working of the Gujarat Art Society is Rajkot-based artist Umesh Kyada, who studied art at Vallabh Vidyanagar and currently teaches at the Rajkumar College, Rajkot. He has collected a team that includes senior practicing artists who serve as mentors and help form an informal jury that selects from the artworks submitted (this year there were more than 150 artists who had sent in their works). The selection process is as transparent as it could possibly be and the selection committee includes members based in all major cities of the state so that the quality artworks that truly represent the ‘regional contemporary’ are featured in the annual show.

And then there’s another show of young art at the same time.

Anikesa Dhing, Laxman Rekha, Embroidery on Cotton Cloth, 2023. Pic courtesy Ark Foundation.

Some amongst you may not always be able to make it to the final year display exhibitions of graduating students at the Faculty of Fine Arts every year. Sometimes it is the intense April/May heat of the summer that is daunting, at other times, you might miss it as you may be travelling on those days or busy with work. Of all people, I missed one the year before last. So, since the past few years, the Ark Foundation has been organizing exhibitions called Embark, that display a few works of selected graduating artists whose career the Ark team has been informally following, and if they see promise, then those artists are featured in the Embark show that is held a year after the student-artists have left art school. This year, Embark editions VI and VII was organized from July 12 and will continue till August 9. It features 16 artists who finished their Masters in various disciplines in 2021-22 and 2022-23, and it is an exhibition certainly worth visiting. Ark does not function as a commercial gallery anymore, so the artworks are available to interested buyers at prices decided by the individual artist.

Raja Boro, Peace IV- Santiniketan, Woodcut, 2022. Pic courtesy Ark Foundation.

If one just does an overall survey of the artworks in this exhibition, it indicates an extraordinary range of content tackled, stylistic approaches experimented with, techniques mastered, and mediums explored. This is indeed heartening. Most of them, barely out of art school, have already exhibited in group shows with galleries, won prestigious awards, attended residencies. Their artworks display a valuable sense of confidence that they have in themselves, a chutzpah that flows freely around them and the work they do. They have come here from all over India and most of them have made my small town their current home. Here are their names – Anikesa Dhing, Chinnarao Degala, Digvijaysinh Jadeja, Dipin Chandran, G. Rahul, Hiral Chaudhuri, Olivia Saha, Purvi Sharma, Sneha Lakhotia, Tito Stanley SJ, Utpal Prajapati, Simran Yagyik, Rumit Donga, and Raja Boro. If you are an art lover, then in the coming years, I can promise you that you will read and hear their names often …

Purvi Sharma, Evening, Gouache colour paper, paper weaving, 2023. Pic courtesy Ark Foundation.