A silent sale for Nepal

It seemed just another Saturday. But at The Gallery Café at Kalakriti Art Gallery, about 15 artists got together to ‘live paint’ for a silent auction, proceeds from which will go to aid Nepal earthquake victims.

The air was filled with the smell of paints and though the temperature outside was soaring, the artists present were more than happy because that meant that their artworks would dry faster.

Supriya Lahoti, who heads the cafe, says, “We wanted to give different artists from the city a chance to showcase their talent. Besides, these artists have never been associated with our gallery, this was the perfect opportunity.”

Unlike the other art or photography shows in the city, this auction saw artists actually creating their works on the spot. The idea for this ‘live’ painting came up two days prior to the event. “It would be unfair to ask artists to give their ready artworks for auction.

Because they might have taken more time to work on them. So we thought, they could come together, paint in the morning and then their artworks would be put up for sale,” says Supriya.

The themes varied from womanpower to landscapes. While most of the artworks were done using water colours, because they dry faster, artist Raju Kathi chose to work with charcoal. The artist, who was vigorously shading his artwork with a charcoal piece, says, “I also work with water colours, but charcoal is one of my favourites. I chose to depict a woman because women signify power and that is what I wanted to showcase.”  

Artist Bhaskar Rao, who paints landscapes says, “It feels nice to know that art is being used for such a good cause.” As of now, the artworks have been put on display at the cafe till May 16 for a silent auction.