In a quiet nook of VA Gallery on Chamiers Road, a gaggle of girls lean over a desk, admiring work. The artist, Kannur-based Vidhya Chandran, seems a bit overwhelmed by the eye. “My main medium is fabric… these are just practice sketches,” she says, signing her identify together with her brush. At as soon as, her batchmates erupt in encouragement, insisting the works should be framed and treasured.
It is that this spirit of camaraderie and inventive persistence that defines An Artful Reunion, a gaggle show by the Fine Arts batch of 1987 from Stella Maris College. Nearly 4 many years after commencement, 18 of them have returned to the gallery house, not simply with work, however with crochet, origami, pictures, ceramics, and material art, showcasing how their observe has developed with time.
Organisers Mala Chinnappa, Varuna Arvind, and Rangashree Srinivas
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Special Arrangement
“We have always kept in touch, thanks to WhatsApp. This show came together very organically. All of us are still doing some form of art even after all these years, and bringing it all together for a show was an obvious choice,” says Rangashree Srinivas, who organised the show together with her two batchmates Mala Chinnappa, art facilitator, and Varuna Arvind, inside designer and founder of VA Gallery.
The result’s a showcase that feels much less like a proper exhibition and extra like a reunion in paint, material, and kind. “There is no overarching theme to the exhibition, because each of us have different strengths, and we wanted everyone to showcase what they do best,” provides Rangashree.
On show are delicate origami sculptures, textured crochet items, collages, watercolours, ceramics, pictures, and work in a range of kinds. Some artists have stayed true to their chosen medium for many years, like award-winning origamist Kalyani Voleti and Philadelphia-based watercolourist Radhika Srinivas, whereas others proceed to experiment throughout varieties.
Paintings on show at An Artful Reunion
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Special Arrangement
The combine makes for a viewing expertise that’s eclectic but deeply private, with every work carrying the stamp of a life lived outdoors and alongside art. Margaret Thomas, the present Vice Principal of Stella Maris College, who works with pen on canvas, says, “when we joined the course, it was because we were all interested in the arts. This has kept us together over the years.” Mala mirrors the sentiment, including, “we were all in this because we appreciated the arts. This wasn’t just a degree we picked to keep us busy until something better came along.”
Over the years, the group has not solely stored in contact and inspired one another, but in addition travelled together for art — visiting the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, holding retreats in Kodai and Coonoor, and exhibiting up unfailingly for one another’s showcases.
Artist Thota Tharani on the showcase
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Special Arrangement
When their former professor, art historian and curator Ashrafi Bhagat, dropped by the gallery, she was fast to encourage the initiative. For the Batch of ’87, her presence was a reminder of the place all of it started, making this return to the gallery not only a reunion of buddies, however a reaffirmation of the function art has continued to play in their lives.
An Artful Reunion can be on view at VA Gallery, Chamiers Road, from August 16 to 23, 11am to 7pm.
