Young artists, gallery owners mourn the passing of a mentor

BENGALURU: A mentor to young artists and a friend to many, sculptor and painter Yusuf Arakkal's demise triggered a sense of deep loss among fellow artists and art patrons alike. Awarded the prestigious Lorenzo De Medici Gold Medal at Florence International Biennale in Italy recently, he is one of a handful of artists from the city to be celebrated both nationally and internationally.

"I've known him since the past 7 years and it's a huge loss to all of us. He was a great inspiration to me as an artist and a great friend." said Deepa Subramaniam sadly, whose art galley Gallerie De' Arts, was closely associated with the artist.
In its initial stages, Mr. Arakkal helped put together a few major shows that showed her the way, she said, tears streaming down her face. "He put me on the right track as far as the gallery is concerned and helped put together contemporary shows in its initial days. He also gave me inputs to run the gallery."

Yusuf Arakkal's death will affect the art community in the city as he mentored many young artists, even funding them, said longtime friend and co-owner of Crimson Art Gallery, Naozar Daruwalla. "He promoted a whole lot of new artists and helped them out from his own pocket. When he opened his gallery, he continued that work with greater force. There are very few people who do that. We will really miss him."

His Whitefield residence was flooded with his friends and family, who came to say goodbye from near and far. A friend of Mr Arakkal's since they went to art college together to earn their diplomas in art back in 1968, Dr Chandrashekhara, who has been the chairman of Karnataka's Lalit Kala Academy, was shaken up, at losing his friend. He said " Though we spoke on the phone, we hadn't met for a while, and now this has happened."

Sharing a memory from their college days, he added nostalgically, "I remember earlier when he was busy at work, he would tell us he is abroad when all the time he was at home working. We called him Bluff Master! We got our art diplomas from Chitrakala Parishad together. We were a gang of four, very close and competitive and now its just three."