Of sequins & Salvador
"Cool sh*t," is how Raghav Vadhera, a marketing executive, 25, describes Baba Anand’s solo art show. Vadhera is no art aficionado. Installation art is new to him. He avoids words like "contemporary” and "pop art”, but in spite of being a corporate-sort with little interest in brush strokes, he feels the show is "fun”.
"Cool sh*t," is how Raghav Vadhera, a marketing executive, 25, describes Baba Anand’s solo art show. Vadhera is no art aficionado. Installation art is new to him. He avoids words like "contemporary” and "pop art”, but in spite of being a corporate-sort with little interest in brush strokes, he feels the show is "fun”.
Gold arms protrude from a frame, an orange condom dangles from a box, paintings have sequins with glitter and beads, an upturned jumbo called Space Elephant is suspended mid-air.
So, yes, Baba Anand is influenced by Salvador Dali. And he has been since his early teens. "I didn’t even understand what Surrealism meant, but the images fascinated me. He (Dali) seemed to me a tall personality, larger than life, unreal,” says Anand.
Anand has been putting together this collection for two years. ‘The Major Arcana’, as the show is called, is a selection of 22 paintings with captivating installations and a series of small paintings with themes such as Lip, Bagel, Moon, Cyprus — ‘Daliesque Doodes’.
In spite of the madness, tarot is the motif you can’t miss. Bright, vivid depictions of The Devil, The Star and The Tower feature prominently. And you must spend a few seconds around a bust called Mae West.
If you go for this, you might feel more geared up for Anand’s next show. (Hint: manga drawings.)
On till May 17 at the Religare arts.i Gallery, 7 Atmaram Mansion, Level One, Scindia House, Connaught Place.
