The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Coimbatore News : Paintings at ‘Ovia Sandhai’ draw art lovers

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Monday, Jan 12, 2009
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Paintings at ‘Ovia Sandhai’ draw art lovers

Staff Reporter

It had 136 artists displaying their works

— Photo: M. Periasamy

LOVE OF ART: A visitor admiring a painting at the ‘Ovia Sandhai’, a street art market, organised as part of the Coimbatore Vizha on West Club Road at Race Course in Coimbatore on Sunday.

COIMBATORE: Art lovers in Coimbatore did something different on Sunday for the love of art. They went to a ‘sandhai’ (shandy) to buy works of art instead of an art gallery.

The ‘Ovia Sandhai’ – street art market – organised as a finale of the Coimbatore Vizha had 136 artists displaying their works on West Club Road. If one thought that the ‘sandhai’ will not have on display good quality works, it was not so. The works could have decorated the walls of any premier art gallery.

The event was organised under the aegis of the Coimbatore Vizha by Lalit Kalakshetra, Raviraj Institute of Fine Arts. According to Director of the Institute Raviraj, the event was the first of its kind in Coimbatore. “The main aim was to give an opportunity for the buyer to meet the artist directly,” he said.

Shankar Vanavarayar, Chair, Coimbatore Vizha, said the event was planned to give a boost to art. “Art is yet to evolve in a big way in Coimbatore. We wanted to show that there can be affordable art. We have told the artists to encourage bargaining and not stick to gallery prices,” he said.

The ‘sandhai’ had varied art forms in varied sizes – landscapes, portraits, digital paintings, puppets, door frames, abstracts, modern art, etc., in water colours, oil paints, acrylics, shared space. The paintings ranged from a few hundreds to a few thousands.

Artists, qualified in art or without qualification, but just as talented and creative as the others, were present to explain their work to a discerning clientele.

K. Vijayakumar, a graphic artist with his digital paintings, Anbu Kadhir, a painter of semi-abstracts using acrylic on canvas for conveying themes on global warming and tsunami, Selva Senthilkumar, a painter of puppets, etc., were among the many talented lot who shared space at the ‘sandhai’.

While some art lovers left with high-end works costing a few thousands, there were students like Priyanka Jain who was happy to purchase a simple landscape in watercolour for just Rs. 100.

The Coimbatore Vizha committee planned to organise the ‘sandhai’ every year.

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