Celebrating the intricacies of art

Art has always been an integral part of Chennai’s culture, with exhibitions and talks being held every week to bring it closer to the people, and even for non-artists to understand the form of expression better. One such unique event is Art Tour, organised by Ashvita Fine Arts, Artsy and Phoenix MarketCity. The registration-only event will see curator Vaishnavi Ramanathan taking people through a tour of the various marvelous art installations situated within the mall, sharing tidbits about the artist and their work.

Murugan Rajan, Centre Director, Phoenix MarketCity, says, “We’ve been having an art program for three to four years now, under the Artsy initiative. We’ve had art installations with boards relaying details of the work, and brochures are also provided so you can take a tour across the mall yourself. But we discovered that for those interested, it is hard to recognise the intricacies of the sculptures and the work that went behind creating it. We realised that there is a need for an expert to explain these artworks and share their knowledge of the artist and their art. We also want to expose school children to art so that they can develop their interest further.”

Vaishnavi Ramanathan, the curator for the event, who will be showing the attendees and guiding them through the different sculptures, shares, “Our aim with Art Tour is to bring art closer to the people. It will be an interactive session where we will talk about the works and the audience can have their questions answered. Contemporary art needs a bit of an introduction and someone to take you through the nuances.” She goes on to tell us about the different artists whose works are displayed, “We have the likes of Ravinder Reddy, who has a very rural inspiration to his works, Gigi Scaria, whose work is a comment on the mechanised lifestyle and use of plastic in today’s world. They’ve created a playful take on Transformers. Arunkumar HG and Anjum Singh’s works will also be on display amongst other talented artists. We have a wide variety of aesthetic as well as social concerns that will be covered through their works.”

(Art Tour will be held in Phoenix MarketCity on April 15 and 16, 10.30 am onwards)