The changing world of art and the mutation of artists

[1]

Surprisingly, unlike book lit fests, art fairs haven’t caught on in Mumbai. New Delhi is currently hosting the most high-profile one — at Okhla. It’s the place to network, besides showcasing new artworks.
Mumbai does have a solid phalanx of artists. At one time, the bolder and more innovative of them would hang around and plan collaborative shows. Of them, Riyas Komu and Bose Krishnamachari appear to have forged a two-man partnership to exhibit at biennales (can’t understand this word though) at home and abroad, but not without controversies dogging them. There were accusations flung at them for the misappropriation of state funds in Kerala.
Still I wouldn’t say it’s the way it used to be, with artists hanging out at cafes and show openings. In fact, the one artist I’ve managed to keep in some contact with also trots around the globe premiering his creations. That’s Chintan Upadhyay, who told me about his unusual interest in window frames and railings, which he was working on, but that’s been put on hold for a while. At the Art Fair, he showcases a series of paintings related to his impressions of childhood — not his, but of what he has perceived of underprivileged children.
Upadhyay believes that there is a tendency by the media to romanticise them as a resilient lot, smiling constantly in the face of odds. “Perhaps they do outwardly, because they have no other alternative,” he observes. “They keep their anxieties buried inside. The word, ‘future’ doesn’t make any sense to them simply because they don’t know what that is.”
The artist has been photographing children in various cities, including Mumbai naturally, and has bigger plans to sensitise viewers on the state of children, through video installations, mixed media artworks and sculpture. Way to be!