These artists of Ahmedabad are taking their art to global audiences

These four artists of Ahmedabad have been sharing their art in Venice, Dallas and New York through scholarships and competitions.

At this year’s Gujarat Literature Festival, sculptor Sangam Vankhade left audiences mesmerised with his miniature stone sculptures. For his display, he had carved out a range of architectural legacies of Gujarat in rock, showing the degenerating state of our heritage sites. Vankhade, who practises at Kanoria Centre for Arts, took these miniature architectural legacies to Venice in July of this year. His art was selected from over 200 entries received as part of the competition Scogliera Viva – Sculpturing the Sea. He represented not only Ahmedabad but the whole of South Asia, alongside two other artists hailing from Germany and Italy. Vankhade learnt about the international competition through digital and social media portals. The camp was held between July 21 to July 31 and the Amdavadi sculptor stayed back until August 5 to experience the artistic vibes of the City of Water.

Meanwhile, the artist couple Rakesh and Roma Patel are travelling to New York, USA, this October to exhibit their artworks at Barataria gallery in Brooklyn. This has been possible through a scholarship awarded by Lalit Kala Akademi. Rakesh Patel, an emerging name in Ahmedabad’s community of artists, makes installations and paintings using wood and computer motherboards as his mediums. This time, his works depict deforestation and the degrading natural habitat. Roma Patel’s abstract art, meanwhile, is inspired by the forms and dark-toned textures of fish. Rakesh Patel’s 30 artworks will be exhibited from October 27 to November 2, while Roma’s 30 paintings will be displayed from November 3 to November 9.

Each year, Lalit Kala Akademi awards more than Rs 50 lakhs to local artists in the form of bursaries and scholarships. The Akademi not only sponsors international exhibitions for selected artists but also provides financial grants to deserving regional creators who want to arrange national shows for themselves in India. In 2015, Preksha Kapadia of Ahmedabad received the Akademi’s international grant to exhibit her work in Dallas, Texas, USA. Once there, she found the opportunities so enriching that she permanently moved to the USA.

In July of this year, Kapadia showcased her mixed media work Fabric in Wood  in a group show called Eternal Summer, held at the prestigious One Art Space gallery in New York. In the show, curated by Ishaat Hossain between 15-21 July, her work is displayed alongside those of 19 other talented artists from across the globe. According to local newspapers, onlookers loved her abstract forms, which were mainly prepared using textile on wood. Preksha has been experimenting with the fabric of cotton since the past 5 years in her art. Of course, Ahmedabad, her hometown, has been famous for its textile industry, which earned it the name “Manchester of the East”. So when we see Kapadia use cotton in her artworks, it strikes us that cultural growth goes hand in hand with the personal development of the artist!

It’s heartening to see that talented artists from the city are taking credible steps to share their art with global audiences and to widen their worldview!

Photo Source : Artists Social Media Page