It was un rêve (a dream) for Manju Sethia to set her first footstep in the art world with a gallery of her own. In November 2006, after a comprehensive research and integral understanding of contemporary Indian art, Manju Sethia opened the Mon Art Gallerie at a central location in Kolkata with the show titled Un Rêve that showcased the works of thirty-five well known contemporary Indian artists. In her very own words Manju had said in the inaugural note of the first exhibition at her gallery, “…I am opening a gallery – that which was a dream has now become a reality. I am now surrounded by works of many of the best and well known artists in my country. I hope to do justice to my profession by making a definite mark in the art world.” And in such a short span of time the performance that Mon Art Gallerie has put forward is quite remarkable with its conceptualization of shows and the attempts to make a pan-Indian projection of contemporary art.
After moving in to the shows of the past one year at Mon Art Gallerie, the finest impression that came to my mind is how the gallery owner uses the full scope of exploring young talents parallel with the established artists and bring about a brilliant fusion. Manju Sethia has in mind the basic idea to promote contemporary Indian art as she said, “Mon Art Gallerie pledges to support art in every field and welcomes its existence as we facilitate the creative spheres to spread and be accessible to everyone who has a passion for art.”
In an intimate meeting with Mrs. Sethia, she disclosed a lot more about her experiences and endeavours to deal with art of different forms and artists of different statures. Excerpts from her views…
SM: When did it actually come to your mind that you would open a gallery and initiate a journey in the art world?
MS: As a kid, I was very fond of art works and often tried to do something creative though I failed because I was not that talented. My schooling was from Channing, Highgate and London where I found many of my classmates extremely well at painting and in creating something very aesthetical. This was one pin that instigated me since that tender age that I should do something for art if not in art. The second biggest cause of my fondness for art is my father who I have seen from my childhood days collecting art objects. Actually I was born and brought up in an environment where dealing with art came to me quite naturally. But all these were certain instigative potions the allowed me to think in a broader way of starting my ride in the art world with a gallery of my own. The real key to this opening was my brother who owns a gallery in Mumbai and deals with art objects and antiques. With his long experience, he laid certain propositions so that I could concentrate on art development of this part of the country and hence I picked up the challenge with full support of my husband and other family members to onset this journey.
SM: How do you assess art works and pick them up to be showcased in your gallery? Is there any particular trend or way of looking that you dominantly attempt to cater? MS: The only criteria that I follow to assess or whatever you say regarding selecting art works is my intuition. I firmly believe in my intuition and everything else I leave them open for all to develop their individual opinions.
Actually before opening the Mon Art Gallerie, I had done a thorough study on development of art practices and the scenario of contemporary Indian art and individually moved to different places in India and met with artists, art historians and art connoisseurs to get a first-hand experience of the actual facts what's going on. That has helped me a lot to develop my vision of how to deal and dwell in this sphere. To be very frank if I like someone's work and find a little scope that this piece of art can be interesting if exhibited, I am ready to take the challenge without letting the chance to be missed in any way. And my liking is very intuitive in nature and if it goes wrong I pay the bigger price for that.
SM: How do you conceptualize an exhibition? And if you please focus on the variety, I mean the exhibitions of different artists you have till date organized, like on one hand if it is Badri Narayan, you can also go for someone quite young and unknown like Manoj Kachangal, K. Prasun Roy, artists from Goa, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and a lot more.
MS: As I told you that my aesthetic sense or whatever you would like to call it is all depended on my intuition. I am stirred and triggered by this force. I always looked forward to work on a pan-Indian disposition and hence never tried to cater a particular pocket of artists confining to a particular zone or region. I gradually developed this type of taste moving across the country as well as around the globe and found that art of Bengal was popular in other regions. On the contrary, art of say contemporary Orissan artists or the experimentations young artists from Goa are doing are quite uncommon in Kolkata and this cultural city gets least opportunity to experience those works. Hence, this has become a crucial aspect of my creative journey to showcase some exclusive shows with uncommon faces and an alternative taste.
Curating a show on Badri Narayan's works had been a great opportunity for me because previously no art gallery in Kolkata had ever brought forward such a wide collection of this artist. The show on Manoj Kachangal was actually curated by Bhavna Kakar and she acts as a great guide for me in this field. We have come together in many shows and even organized shows outside India . The show Three Amigos on the works of Deviprasad C. Rao, Suhas Shilker and Swatee Nair from Goa was my brainchild after I met them in Goa and saw their works. The show Dimensions & Directions was in association with Bakul Foundation, Orissa and was actually mastered by Professor Deba P. Patnaik. This is how different shows have been conceived and conceptualized and finally executed.
SM: How many shows have you curated in these one and a half year? What about the shows you have organised in Hong Kong and Singapore ?
MS: Till date we have 15 shows in the list that were held here in Kolkata in the Mon art Gallerie premises. One show was organized in Mumbai and another in Hong Kong where we put together works of twenty-four artists from India early this year. The next Hong Kong show is from May 14, 2008 at the Visual Arts Center , Kennedy Road , Hong Kong , where we will showcase works of Pratul Dash, Kazi Nasir, Dileep Sharma, Alok Bal, Suneel Mamadapur, Sovan Kumar, Sonia Mehra Chawla and Rupa. In Singapore the Calcutta Painters' group exhibition that had its preview here at Mon was held in association with Artmosaic Gallery , Singapore .
SM: What are your forthcoming ventures?
MS: Well we are opening a gallery by the end of this year in Dubai . It's already in progress and I am planning to showcase art of Bengal as one of the initial shows in Dubai to promote it over there. In fact art of this region is something people at Dubai are very fond of and there are many sincere collectors who look for Indian art specifically. I hope to get a good respond even in an alien land in my endeavour.
SM: How do you look at the present art market and what is your perception of how to even fetch a commercial success in holding shows?
MS: First of all let me make clear that my primary idea is to curate good art that forms waves of new thoughts and creations to move me from within. Generally I don't depend on how the market will respond to it. But of course the financial part cannot be ignored. Generally we keep it open for the artists to fix their own prices for their works but if they don't sound suitable to me, definitely I have to give a revised thought to his/her works because one cannot just do away with the market completely when you are already in the deal. Of course there are ups and down and many a time expectations are not fulfilled, yet the shows at my gallery till date have come up with a fair response.
In a nutshell, Manju Sethia has a long way to go and she will definitely make a much bigger niche for herself in the art world. And we will intensively look forward to some intellectually-stimulating shows from her in the future, though she prefers to be more intuitive in her perception and understanding for any object of art. |
