Growing up with a family of art collectors, it was natural for Meenu Jaipuria to fall in love with the subject as well. “Art has a visual language that fascinated me,” says Meenu, the founder of the Mahua Art Gallery in Sadashivanagar. “Ancient art, which was part of my environment, absorbed me with its history.” Along the way, her deep interest in the subject inspired her to interact with art scholars at every opportunity and improve her connoisseurship. “It is a process that is never ending for me,” she says. Much of Meenu's fascination for art was inherited from her father and artwork patron H.K. Kejriwal, who has been collecting art and sculpture since 1945. Some of his acquisitions date back to the 3rd Century BC. It was his involvement with art that inspired her to set up the Mahua Gallery and the Mahua Foundation.
“Our mission is to bring art to all,” asserts Meenu, describing the overall objective of the gallery. Consequently, the gallery holds talks by artists and film-showings related to art. It also has programmes designed to help art collectors “know about art, how to look at art and assess it”. “The aim is to make these collectors confident of their decisions and to truly appreciate their collections,” she says.
The Mahua Gallery even promotes talented young contemporary artists and contemporary folk artists.
Prior to establishing the gallery in 2003, Meenu had founded a not-for-profit organisation called Sanskriti in 2000 to promote awareness of art. This was later transformed into the Mahua Art Foundation that now comprises distinguished art scholars such as Jyotindra Jain, B.N. Goswamy and Vidya Dehejia, who focus on folk art, miniature paintings and chola bronzes.
According to Meenu, the gallery is frequented by “all kinds of people”, including designers, architects, artists, collectors, art students and people who are simply curious about art. Between 30-35 people attend the gallery talks, while up to 200 appear for the annual art education event held in collaboration with the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA).
City's awareness
Commenting on the art scene in Bangalore, Meenu admits that while the audience for art is growing, the city does not have as many awareness programmes and art courses as Mumbai or Delhi. However, with the NGMA and other art initiatives taking hold, she hopes that the city's citizens will become more exposed to the world of art.
“Art opens a world of sensitivity, beauty, idea and imagination for me,” says Meenu. “Through the gallery and foundation, I would like to share these with all.”
