Bangalore Gallery Notes

Crimson - the Art Resource (Silloo and Naozar Daruwalla)

Hatworks Boulevard

32, Cunningham Road

1. The Cunningham Road space is the second location for Crimson.

2. The first location was on Infantry Road, at Safina Plaza.

3. Naozar Daruwalla is an artist - and the two of them had exhibited a few shows here and there at the Taj, West End, etc. when Mr. Safal from Safina Plaza approached them with the idea of opening a gallery at the plaza. This was in 1989.

4. It is a bad time for the art market now - especially corporate buyers have dried up.

5. The gallery is one long well-lit room with plenty of natural light, in an old Bangalore house with Mangalore tiles on the roof - which were being replaced when we went there. All the art was subsequently stacked in the reception room, which had hardly any walking space besides.

6. Silloo Daruwalla feels that lighting is most important for a gallery - especially natural light. They were blessed with "super" natural light at Safina plaza - as well as at their current location. It would be lovely to be able to change around lighting with every show - but the budget constraints of running a gallery prevents this. Specific lighting is not as important for an exhibition of paintings as t is for an installation or performance art. A basement space would not be a good idea for a gallery, because of lighting issues. There are new galleries being opened in buildings like warehouses, especially in Delhi, and it is her personal opinion that these places don't work because there is no natural light.  

7. The gallery picks the artists they want to exhibit - and if the show is a multiple-artist show, the theme is picked to thread together the works of the artists picked, and not the other way around.

8. Running a gallery is a very expensive venture. There was an art boom a few years back when every housewife thought that running a gallery would be a good business. But it isn't - it's very difficult -  there are economic problems. 

9. When you're running a gallery you're doing everything for the artist - brochures, exhibition, publicity. It's expensive. You can't afford to advertise the gallery - because your profit margin is next to nothing.

10. They depend on the press, magazine articles and their online presence for their advertising. 

Renaissance Gallerie

1. It's a tiny room, with walls that were white-washed a few years ago - and not too much natural lighting. There is a reception desk by the door with computer. 

2. Renaissance was started by Shreen Malani in 1993.

3. They exhibit art by consignment for famous artists and have rental shows for upcoming artists. They do not charge any commission on the sales.

4. They charge 25,000 for five days for rental shows - and sometimes club artists together into group shows.

5. the art stock they keep is work by famous artists.

6. Artists can get in touch with the gallery - where the gallery does a basic screening process with the work.

7. There are press listings to publicize exhibitions. One newspaper will cover each show in an article. The gallery invites 300 clients. Gallery bears all costs - except the rental.

8. The lighting is nothing special. There are small racks, one at the front display window and one at the back for holding small sculptures.

9. The art market is "really dull and down" right now. But it's supposed to pick up this March.

10. The receptionist(Fauzi) has a huge scrapbook of press cuttings with her - that cover every time the gallery or the owner has come in the news. She is a page 3 personality, in Fauzi's words. And every show opens with a gala affair, including food and entertainment at a five star hotel.

11. The rental shows were started only after the art market crashed. Before this they were only dealing with consignments.

12.the area the gallery is in is a posh area - there are many walk-ins, especially in the evening.

13. the gallery donates half the proceeds from non-rental charity shows to charity organizations. 

The Alliance Francaise Gallery Space

1. The gallery at the Alliance Francaise is in the atrium space - so one can do an entire circuit of each exhibition.

2. The artwork is displayed along the circuit on the walls, or in the central pit, sometimes on easels. The walls have hanging space and they use hooks, tracks etc. to hang the paintings at eye-level. The second floor also has space to put up work.

3. Different artists hang up their art differently - some level them from the bottom, some space them out haphazardly.

4. Their are special lights for the gallery space, designed by a French architect - bulbs hanging off the ceiling - some artists like them, some don't: they say the lights hit the eye - and they prefer using spotlights on their work. Natural lighting is used in the mornings - the atrium is a well-lit space. Saves electricity.

5. Each show is put up differently. Joseph, the technical co-ordinator, has been here for 33 years. There are two assistants to help with putting up an exhibition. Sometimes the artist gets worried that nothing has been done - and that they may not finish on time - but are then surprised at the speed at which the exhibition is finally put up.

6. The space puts up exhibitions of paintings, sculptures, architectural plans, etc. College final year exhibitions have been held at the Alliance - as well as the all-India Architecture Exhibitions.

7. Different kinds of artists exhibit their work at the Alliance - there are commercial artists as well as "serious hardworking" artists.

8. The artists bring their own contacts - and these people may buy their art. One does not display work at the Alliance to get buyers. Newspapers advertise each exhibition and critique the art.

9. Before, the gallery was inside where the auditorium is today - there was a partition down the centre of the hall with the gallery on one side and a hall on the other. It was the director's idea to create on large theatre - and the gallery was subsequently shifted here. This was 15-20 years ago.

10. The disadvantage of the space is that there is very little security - the Alliance Francaise is an open friendly space where anyone can walk in - and this atmosphere is encouraged at the cost of reducing security. There was a suggestion that a locked grill be placed at the entrance of the gallery but since this would compromise the open friendly nature of the space, the idea was shot down. A guard must be present at all times to ensure the safety of the displayed work.

11. The work is screened by the administration - but anyone can display the work. Some work is rejected because of insensitive content - the Alliance is a walk-in space where al sorts of people come in to view the work, and care is taken not to hurt the sentiments of the audience.

12. The space is given at a normal rent charge per day.

13. Twenty years ago the place used to let final year student work be exhibited for free. But maintenance of the exhibition/space was difficult so they charge a nominal amount.

Gallery Blue Spade

1. Housed in basement, inside the Chancery Hotel complex, the first gallery we visited that actually had a show on. We chanced upon the gallery, on our way to Gallery Time and Space. Lateral Insertions was an exhibition of artwork by 19 artists. Walking downstairs, there was art displayed over the staircase - and then as you walked into the gallery. It was a basement with no natural lighting - and the space was slightly claustrophobic - but not overly so - and there was enough light to comfortably look around the exhibition.

2. A high-end gallery - the low-end version of Blue Spade is located in Bannerghata. That does a good daily sale - there is affordable art that anyone can pick up - whereas this gallery on Lavelle Road has artwork, each of which s a collector's item priced over a lakh. 

3. The clientele depends on the walk-in crowd. There is a buyer every month. Everyone cannot buy in lakhs. 

4. The location is very good - there are many good galleries near by so buyers make these stops and do a gallery circuit around the place. 

5. The space is rented - and the gallery is entirely privately funded. There are no specific artists whose work is exhibited here - artists contact the gallery through the art circle. The art is accepted through a screening process by the two business heads of the gallery and the colleague of the lady we were talking to, who was currently manning the gallery.

6. The work is not on rent - the gallery gets a commission only if it sells. 

7. The hotel security is enough for the gallery.

8. A lot of research is conducted on the artists and the art. The gallery does curated shows - and may of these are group shows.

9. The stock is about two hundred paintings.

10. The artwork and the space needs constant maintenance - including the dsplay room and the locked storeroom.

11. The lighting is the original lighting that was installed when the gallery was opened, before she came. And the walls are painted regularly as the size of the artworks vary.

12. There are shows every two months - and they are on for more than a few weeks. 

13. Artists are on six month consignments - whereas the gallery accepts year-long consignments from new artists.

Gallery Time and Space

1. Gallery Time and Space is a commercial art gallery - with a huge variety of stock on display - but no particular curated exhibited. There are stacks of paintings in little boxes on the floor - but some beautifully exhibited under spot lighting on movable wall/dividers. There are tagged sculptures here and there - all in one longish outhouse with a tiled roof.

2. The gallery is nine-years old and privately owned - and housed in the family complex.

3. Artwork is stocked by commissions and art is rented out as well as sold. 

4. The gallery exhibits mostly contemporary artists - junior artists have group exhibitions. Artwork is selected every week and more than 2000 paintings make up the stock.

5. The gallery takes care of publicity. There are all kinds of clients - some walk-in clients - and a few contacts.

6. There is a strong online presence - but sale is not possible through the website just yet although the gallery is thinking of having an online sale in the future.

7. The space is changeable according t the exhibition currently housed - the dividers can be moved back for a larger exhibition and forwards for a smaller show.

8. There has been no security issue so far.

9. Renu George was always interested in art and was inspired to open a gallery 15 years ago - we talked to her brother. 

10. The art market is difficult - and it is not easy to sell art. It takes a lot of times to build up a clientele and 1 out of 10 regular contacts actually buy the art. 30-35 works are sold every month. The gallery itself has a regular set of artists, 2-3 from calcutta, some from bombay, some delhi and some bangalore.