Mumbai’s Tao Art Gallery to open first post-Covid exhibition

Curated by Sanjana Shah and Sapna Kar the exhibition celebrates the galleries return to physical shows presenting works that carry a strong presence and explore what it means to physically engage with an artwork.

New Delhi: An upcoming art exhibition in a Mumbai-based gallery will present the works of six prominent artists, and presents as a “tribute to the culture of consuming art in the best way live in person”.

Tao Art Gallery’s upcoming exhibition “Textures and Layers” opens 16 December in Mumbai. The gallery’s first post-Covid physical exhibition, it features works by Michelle Poonawalla, Revati Sharma Singh, Kisalay Vora, Jaideep Mehrotra, Kalpana Shah and Shruti Jhaveri.

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Curated by Sanjana Shah and Sapna Kar the exhibition celebrates the galleries return to physical shows presenting works that carry a strong presence and explore what it means to physically engage with an artwork.

“Art by nature is engaging. It pulls in the viewer with its vivid display, creating moods, weaving narratives and impacting perspectives. The physical textures on an artwork are an extension of the metaphorical expression of the artist! As we expand further and further the boundaries of experimentation in art, we find more ways to convey and connect. The visual sense experience is being combined now with our other senses: touching, hearing, tasting, smelling; there is no limitation to engagement.

In the times we are in today, the importance of taking art online is undeniable. But I believe that true to its historically experimentative nature, art cannot be confined to a primarily virtual platform. To understand the art, one must understand its essence, by interacting with every aspect of it minutely. One must de-layer it, move around it to get a sense of scope and scale, and, most importantly, experience it. Every artwork is imprinted upon twice, once by the hands of its maker, and the second time by the senses of its observer,” wrote Sanjana Shah, Creative Director, Tao Art Gallery.

A featuring artist Poonawalla will present six works that evolve beyond a traditional 2D painting incorporating sculptural elements which bring themselves off the canvas and into the viewer’s space.

Her exhibited works include ‘Blue Wave’, inspired by the city of Mumbai — the painting references the city through its free flowing language and colour; ‘What if you fly!’ and ‘Mystical Flight’ which both feature Pooawalla’s signature butterfly motif – an ephemeral creature that is the result of a metamorphosis – representing both beauty and freedom. Desert Rose which also features butterflies representing the inherent beauty in nature’s patterns as the artist allowed them to fall naturally on the work before affixing each one where they landed.