For the Love of Art: Bankers, Lawyers and Psychologists Wield the Paintbrush

A group of aspiring artists comes together to show their art at ‘The Art Window’, an exhibition at the Gufa. The motley crew of artists in this exhibition includes a retired banker, a lawyer, a psychologist, a teacher and a graphic designer.

On entering the Amdavad ni Gufa, I sensed an exuberance and positivity across the gallery, all expressed in support of the aspiring talent in the room. The nine artists that have come together for this show, The Art Window, were brought together by a year-long Diploma in Fine Arts from the Kanoria Centre for Arts. The motley crew includes a retired banker, a lawyer, a psychologist, a teacher and a graphic designer. While some are pursuing art on the side, others have reignited their passion for the medium since retirement.

Vrindavan Solanki, who was present to inaugurate the group’s exhibition, expressed his happiness on seeing people pursue art for the sheer joy that it brings. He encouraged the artists to continue to follow their passion. The exhibition was inaugurated alongside Director of Nexus Art Gallery Vaishakhi Mehta at 6 pm on 1^st May.

The Diploma programme at Kanoria Centre for Arts not only brought this crew together but also inspired them to create artworks and present them to the world. It brought about a unique juxtaposition between age groups, ideologies, mediums as well as methodologies, the medley of which is interesting to observe in this exhibition.

The senior-most member of the group, Harshad Jadhav, has followed a very pragmatic career path his entire life, studying at HL College and working with SBI for almost 40 years, and putting his passion for art on hold. On retiring, however, he decided to pursue his love for art again. A motif of birds, especially of crows, appears often in his works. What inspires him about the crow, he shared, is that it is an extremely intelligent bird that can find its way out of any problem. His work is a way for him to express his voice against the rapid urbanisation that has engulfed the homes of so many birds and animals. Yamini Gajjar, a teacher, also finds her inspiration in nature, as can be seen in her brilliant depictions of birds and flowers. She loves to work with watercolours, finding their transparency to be a very appealing factor.

Vishwa Choksi has a background in psychology and her work is extremely personal to her. She uses art to express her feelings. In fact, she prefers direct application of paints to surfaces, as this brings her closer to the art. Choksi seeks to express joy and sorrow through her works. She presents a series of 4 works which were created during a period of sorrow in her life. At the same time, she also presents certain works created during a period of joy. Her exuberance, contrasted with her sorrow, are evident in her choices of colour and the forms that the works take on. Zil Patel’s work is also inspired from the many thoughts and moments that she has experienced herself, with a focus on figurative works.

Jaydeep Soni, a graphic designer, is inspired by a chance encounter that he had with an Aghori sadhu in Ambaji, which ignited his interest in the religious practice. During his research, he found that the three main sources of power for an Aghori sadhu are the beard, skull and eye. He expresses this through his art.

Nirali Pujara, who hails from the corporate sector, is deeply interested in female empowerment. She focuses on portraying strong women through her dreamlike visual narratives. Bhavisha Usadadiya’s most poignant work, meanwhile, comments on how women today may have freedom but are unable to exercise it. Exploring multiple themes in her works, she also experiments with the shape of Ganesh in one painting, and expresses the idea, in another, that to succeed, one needs to put in time and patience.

Stuti Yagnik, a lawyer by training, likes to experiment with various art mediums and presents her works in oil paints, acrylic as well as pencil sketches. She finds her inspiration in the everyday things and actions that she observes around her. Shreya Dixit is also inspired by the life around her, creating her works intuitively. She presents some beautiful watercolour works through which we can gauge a slice of her life, as seen through her eyes.

Experiencing the vitality in the gallery full of aspirational talents left me deeply inspired. The exhibition The Art Window is open from 4PM to 8PM, till 6^th May, at Amdavad ni Gufa and is highly recommended for all Amdavadis looking to reignite their passions.

Photographs : Aditya Sharma