Sulakshana Borde checks out how inexpensive art can get at Artquest, a new gallery in Colaba

‘Affordable Art’, the fax said. Hmm… yet another baniya art shop selling non-saleable paintings for cheap? It was not long before I ate my own words.

Artquest, the spanking new affordable art shop at Colaba opened its doors without any hoo-haa last week. The cubbyhole art shop manages to draw you in thanks to some really captivating art on display.

Pretty women peep out of a real wooden antique Jharoka (mirror holder). It is one of the Prashant Hirlekar’s best works, and it is all for ... hold your breath ... Rs.8,000. Next to him are cute miniatures on sun signs by the veteran artist Sabir, Rs.1,500 each. Artist Yashwant Sonawane gives an antique old coconut scraper a face-lift. It promises to make the most morose kitchen look extremely appealing. And it is available for the same price you bought that outfit from Crossroads last week. Could you have dreamt of possessing a Lalitha Lajmi, Fatima Ahmed or John Fernandes? But now you can. There is some really good stuff going, and it’s going fast.

Art is no longer the elite’s domain. The conscious middle class has developed a taste for aesthetics too.

On the other hand there are young, extremely talented artists who are creating masterpieces, but who just cannot market themselves.Artquest it seems has answered the prayers of both sides. New artists now have a platform to launch themselves. And art lovers have a source to quench their thirst for good art without paying through their noses.

An artist will find his outlet for creative expression on any surface, through any medium, and with any impulse. The Kitchen Art showcased at Meher Bijlani’s new gallery – Artquest at Colaba – proved that an artist’s sensibilities can take any form and bring aesthetic appeal to the most worn out and outdated of articles. On exhibit were antique kettles, jewellery boxes, shelves, and even a kerosene ‘chula’ (stove) beautifully “restored” with the help of paint and craft.

A remarkable work by Prashant Hirlekar especially caught one’s eye. The wheel stand of an old sewing machine shimmered gently, having been coated in a wonderful mix of gold, olive green and mustard under a glass pane, which rested on the stand in place of the machine.

Painted on the glass-pane were, a pair of hands trying to pull a thread out through a needle hole. On one border of the length of the pane was painted a measurement tape which being more vocal than visual, spoke volumes!

The work seemed to make a statement that could be interpreted as one of a technological change, a generation gap or simply creation or restoration. Though space must also be conceded for a work of art done for art’s sake, even if it is for sale at the gallery.

Some of the other work was put up by Yashwant Sonawane, Pravin Udge and Mohan Patil. Wooden pieces and glass handles converted into coasters and an innovative wooden chopper set complete with a stickle adorned the gallery.

Also part of the exhibition were paintings portraying people and landscapes. A novel feature of the gallery is the quaint little wooden construction, passable for a cupboard or a wall unit which has been painted by Prashant Hirlekar as a colourful entrance to the gallery.

Artquest, the gallery, is getting bigger and better, with more work from more artists

It’s like a craze these days: art has never been so accessible before. And making it much easier for people to collect art is Meher Bijlani, the lady behind Artquest, a company that sells quality works of art at reasonable prices.

Artquest began in 1997 with a series of kaleidoscopic exhibitions featuring diverse artists and sculptors at the Y B Chavan art gallery, and also held exhibitions at the Sophia art gallery.

In 1999, Artquest opened a small gallery in South Mumbai. The world small being the operative word. Over the years, the demand for art has grown so much that the company had to acquire larger premises, so as to feature more work from more artists.

The new Artquest gallery moves to a larger premises on July 1 at Daulat Building, next to the Colaba Post Office. It will be inaugurated by former actress Zeenat Aman and the opening show will feature the works of such artists as Prashant Hirlekar, Mohan Patil, Anand Panchal, Yashwant Sonawane, Sukumar Chatterjee, John Fernandes and many more.

The mediums used by the artists are also varied : from oil on canvas to watercolours on paper, from acrylic on glass to oil on jute, and so on. Also included in the show will be antique prints, miniature paintings and kitchen art – the latter being Meher Bijlani’s brainchild. Kitchen art basically is a collection of old everyday objects such as kettles, jugs, bottles, plates, spoons, stoves, racks and cabinets, converted by Bijlani into art objects.As a matter of fact, Bijlani and a team of artists were recently commissioned by Elle Decor magazine to create four pages of stunning kitchen art for their latest issue.

Mumbai-based art collector Meher Bijlani, is organising her first art exhibition. She has put together works of over 25 artists from all walks of life. The exhibits will include paintings, sculptures as well as some very old Tanjores. The list has some acclaimed artists such as Fatima Ahmed, Shakuntala Kulkarni, Rekha Rao and John Fernandes. Along with them there will be some new names too. The price range will be from Rs.3,000 to Rs.75,000 with most works falling in the Rs.10,000 to Rs.25,000 price bracket. Meher started collecting art over 20 years ago. She says the trick to becoming a successful art collector is to, “Go by your gut feel, scout around for new and fresh talent where prices are within one’s means.”

At the YB Chavan Art Gallery, Mumbai. From September 16 to 22, 1997.