The need for a body similar to the Bangalore Urban Arts Commission, which wound up in 2002, was echoed by the main speakers at the inauguration of the exhibition of artist Shuvaprasanna Bhattacharya's works.
During the event at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath here on Sunday, Biocon Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Air Deccan founder G.R. Gopinath said such a body was required to restore the city's aesthetics.
“Bangalore is steeped in visual and cultural history. We must have a focussed, serious initiative to bring it to the fore. A visionary group should be formed to resurrect interest in art and culture,” said Ms. Shaw. “With the [Bangalore] Urban Arts Commission's help, a few structures such as the High Court and the Public Library are still left. But Town Hall and Ravindra Kalakshetra are not so well maintained. It is also a pity that the Race Course is going to go. People are trying [to do their bit] in a fragmented way,” she added.
Mr. Gopinath too was critical of the frequent tampering with the city's aesthetics. “Art inside a city has its own cultural and physical landscape. We are busy trying to make Bangalore look like Dubai or Singapore by building malls, etc. We are widening roads and building flyovers everywhere. A body like the arts commission should be formed to blend the old with the new,” he said.
Various themes
The exhibition, which has been held in different cities, has about 116 works of the artist, including paintings and sculptures, on display and for sale.
“There are different themes – illusion, metropolis, animals, icons… I have used different media too, which include graphics, drawing, sculpture, etc.,” explained Mr. Bhattacharya.
Visual treat
Visitors are in for a visual treat as some of the best works of the Kolkata-based artist are up for display. Among them are a mixed media portrait of artist M.F. Hussain and poet Rabindranath Tagore, and riveting portrayals of ‘red terror' and more simple ones of the streets in some famous cities.
The exhibition is on till September 18 at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Kumara Krupa Road.
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