Where the Chennai's art beats

CHENNAI: Artworld Sarala’s Art Centre
Artworld Sarala’s Art Centre is one of the oldest art galleries in south India, established in 1965. It focuses on laying a firm base of Indian art, with the aim of promoting Indian art abroad. The gallery is run by the second generation directors, Bishwajith Banerjee and Sarala Banerjee. The entry is free, making consumption and appreciation of art available for general public, too.

It also allows art buyers to purchase artworks, and if they doubt the authenticity of the paintings, they can return the paintings with full refund within three months of purchase. The gallery has displays of paintings by Laxma Goud, RB Bhaskaran, Alphonso Arul Doss, MF Husain, Amitabh Sengupta and many other renowned artists with M Senapathi’s being the latest. Budding artists are also allowed to display their works, provided they are professional graduates from art schools.

Soul Spice Art Gallery

With over 20 years in curating art exhibitions, two colleagues and friends — Irfan Sahir and A Senthil Kumar — started Soul Spice Art Gallery in January 2017. “Although the art scene is changing, there are a few patrons who constantly visit and encourage our work,” says Irfan. The gallery is in the same premises as that of Vinyasa Art Gallery in Mylapore. The 500-sq ft space can accommodate around 50 paintings. They’ve conducted ten exhibitions so far. Artists from all over India have displayed their work, such as RB Bhaskaran, M Senathipathi, Shyamal Mukherjee, and Vrindavan Solanki.

“After the exhibition, the collection is displayed for a few more days for sale. It’s a seasonal business. Art lovers don’t drop in every day. Nowadays artists have started showcasing their own works on individual websites. People purchase directly from there. This has resulted in fewer art galleries in the city. We want more customers to visit and support us. These paintings must be carried forward to the next generation as legacy and preserved,” says Irfan. The gallery is planning for out-station shows.

Forum Art Gallery

This is a delightful gallery nestled in a residential locality in Adyar. What is striking about the gallery is the space available for exhibiting artworks in addition to the abundance of natural light that fills all the rooms and makes it a warm and welcoming space. “This space was built as a gallery and it was designed to allow as much natural light,” says Shalini Biswajit, artist and founder of the gallery. “We wanted to have a clean and clear space for exhibiting while also ensuring that it was adaptable for video projection, mixed media and other installations.” Currently, the gallery is running summer camps for children in addition to an art education programme for both children and adults.

“We love children coming to the gallery because we like them to learn what it is like to be surrounded by art. Since our space is dynamic, we use it for dance and music performances too,” she said, adding that the gallery has developed relationships with artists over the last 22 years but they do look out for young talent provided they clear their criteria. “We have nurtured a number of artists and have also worked with established names,” she says. “We get a lot of submissions but we chose to work with young artists who suit our vision — commitment, inspiration and being true to oneself and their art,” she said.

Sunny Sistems Art Gallery
Tucked away in a small pocket of Gandhi Nagar, this home-turned-gallery is packed with paintings, sculptures, and decorative gifts. “We started the gallery in 2001. Since it is based out of a house, we removed all the doors when designing the space and didn’t put any special lighting for art because we wanted to keep it natural. We kept the unpredictability of the place intact so people can just wander from room to room,” says Ravi Dhanda, founder, Sunny Sistems Art Gallery.

They have exhibited amateur and established names, but Ravi says they are open to discovering new talent. “We don’t really do art shows and have probably done about three or four since we started,” he says. “We are open to having young artists come to us. And it is not necessary that the artists should be trained, we have displayed works of self-taught artists.” They wanted the gallery to be a space where people walked in and found something that they were interested in.

Focus Art Gallery
Focus Art Gallery at Egmore is one of the best in photo framing and artworks in Chennai. Opened in 1984 at Kodambakkam, they moved to Egmore in January 2018. The gallery boasts a pillar-less exhibition hall spread across 1,500 square feet. “The hall is open for both newbies and established artists. Booking must be done a week ahead, and unlike other places where they charge separately for lighting, we do not take any additional charges.

We host exhibitions at least twice a month,” says Ramnik R Shah, founder of the gallery. He said that art in Chennai is thriving due to the city’s rich cultural background. Apart from this, the gallery also has a collection of rare paintings by Laxma Goud, Ramkumar and Sena Nayake among other renowned artists. One of the most expensive pieces the gallery has hosted was a piece worth `20 lakh by artist Ramkumar.

Sunny Sistems Art Gallery
Tucked away in a small pocket of Gandhi Nagar, this home-turned-gallery is packed with paintings, sculptures, and decorative gifts. “We started the gallery in 2001. Since it is based out of a house, we removed all the doors when designing the space and didn’t put any special lighting for art because we wanted to keep it natural. We kept the unpredictability of the place intact so people can just wander from room to room,” says Ravi Dhanda, founder, Sunny Sistems Art Gallery.

They have exhibited amateur and established names, but Ravi says they are open to discovering new talent. “We don’t really do art shows and have probably done about three or four since we started,” he says. “We are open to having young artists come to us. And it is not necessary that the artists should be trained, we have displayed works of self-taught artists.” They wanted the gallery to be a space where people walked in and found something that they were interested in.