Two years ago, Café Samovar that was housed in a sliver of space within the Jehangir Art Gallery was shuttered. That sliver of space has now been transformed into a new art gallery. Gallery No 4 opened its doors to the public earlier this month with an art show curated by Dilip De that features 15 select works from the private and heritage collection of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).
This is the first time these paintings by stalwarts such as Anjolie Ela Menon, Krishen Khanna, Manjit Bawa, Laxma Goud, Sunil Das and Somnath Hore are being showcased.
De, who is on the managing committee of Jehangir Art Gallery, was tasked to overlook the remodelling of the art space as well as curate the exhibition. His goal was to maintain the continuity of the legacy of the historic Jehangir Art Gallery.
He along with architect Jamshed Sethna decided to design the venue as an eco-friendly space so that natural sunlight could pave its way and foliage could lend it serenity. The new plans included, glass being used on a section of the roof and the rear portion to ensure a steady stream of natural sunlight.
Creating an optical illusion
De says, “My goal was to create a beautiful space for exhibition. I also drew inspiration from the beautiful Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) building and its manicured lawns. I strived to merge the new space with the museum to give an optical illusion that this new gallery [is] merged with the museum.” The curator, who is also an artist, admits it wasn’t easy to select 15 paintings from the TCS vast collection. He adds, “The selection was on [the] basis of telling a story between paintings and the painters who belonged to the same era.”
For Adi Jehangir, Chairperson of Jehangir Art Gallery, opening a new art space was a means of giving a new platform to artists. He says, “There is a chronic shortage of exhibition space as demand hugely exceeds supply. Also, the waiting list for the artists is about five years. So, it was a logical decision to open Gallery No 4. I feel satisfied that we can now offer much needed additional space to deserving artists.”
The TCS art collection will be exhibited at Gallery No 4 at Jehangir Art Gallery till November 26
