With its undulating lawns speckled with sculpture, Ahmedabad’s Kanoria Centre for Art is surely one of the most charming exhibition venues in the city. The place has a resort-like feel to it, especially if you sit sipping chai at the outdoor canteen space that is one of the centre’s attractions.
The Centre was at its busiest best on Saturday, with the opening of two exhibitions at the same hour. The first, Fragments of Infinity by 21-year-old Dhyan Sompura, is at the Centre’s new exhibition hall, called Urmila Black Box. Sompura’s art is ideal for the new gallery, which is done up all in black. His acrylic-on-plywood paintings have a glow that is enhanced by the black walls. Then there are some spectacular 3D works using marble powder, crackle paste, gold foil and other material.
Dhyan’s family is in the business of ceramics manufacturing, and his exhibition includes some high-glaze stonewall clay sculptures, a technique he obviously understands well. Outside of the gallery door, he has set a table exhibiting three books of romantic poetry he has self-published. “The past year has been very busy,” he says. “I have my art; my poetry and I also go to our factory. I will join the family business full-time, but I still want to keep on creating.”
The second exhibition at Kanoria Centre this week is called Abhiti and features over 60 water colours by Manjari Toprani, some of which are framed, others laid on tables. Created over a six year period, the paintings feature houses from Ahmedabad’s pols as well bucolic huts and paddy fields. Then there are some striking paintings of flowers and birds, which she has reproduced from photographs.
Like Dhyan, Manjari is exhibiting her work for the very first time. “I have been painting since I was in school in Mumbai. Then I got married and became busy as a homemaker. I never thought I would ever exhibit my work. My family persuaded me to do this,” she says.
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