Meghna and rashi agarwala
The deep, and often abstract confluence of colours, lines and emotions that is art, Meghna and Rashi Agarwala had chalk and cheese to make a mouse out of them. But the sisters, then in their early 20s, had their minds set on it. And Gallery Kolkata happened in 2004. Meghna (29), who is the curator and the creative head of the gallery, says, “I realised that great works of art would not survive and get their due unless the young start taking interest in them. And that’s how the concept of affordable art fell in place.”

Since its inception, Gallery Kolkata has showcased works by greats like Paritosh Sen and Jogen Choudhury, and several young, talented and relatively unknown artists. The gallery, which shifted to its present Shakespeare Sarani address in 2007, sprawls over 5,000 square feet and includes an adda lounge. “We wanted a healthy interaction between art curators, artists, poets, writers, theatre and film personalities to make art seem affordable and approachable,” says Rashi (27), the marketing head.

The sisters together commission and procure paintings, prints, photographs, sculptures and murals and they also collect art for collection and investment purposes. “We also do restoration of rare artworks, valuation, documentation and cataloguing, activities very important to the preservation of art,” says Meghna.

Initially, the sisters started off with their family business OTC International, which deals in mining, manufacturing and export of minerals.

“Art has been a hobby since childhood. After we had a bit of work experience, we decided to pursue the same full-time. But Gallery happened without much serious commercial planning. When we started off, we wanted more people to appreciate art like we did,” says Rashi, a commerce graduate and a Modern High School pass-out.

What the sisters like the most is that they get to interact with like-minded people from different walks of life. “We speak a global language through the medium of art,” says Meghna, a graduate in human development from J D Birla College. Moreover, they had an interesting endeavour at hand: taking art to the masses.

“Around 4-5 years ago, art was still very niche in Kolkata. People weren’t buying much. At the same time, there was a sort of subdued interest in the works of the popular names from people in general, not recognized art connoisseurs,” says Meghna. So, in order to increase and sustain the interest, they acquired small format works of artists like Jogen Chowdhury, Paritosh Sen, Sunil Das, Suhas Roy, KG Subramanyan, Prakash Karmakar and Shuvaprasanna.

Secondly, they requested prominent artists to create art works that could sell for as little as Rs 5,000. “However, it was not always possible to get them do that. But most of them slashed their prices considerably for the purpose,” says Meghna. This endeavour went on simultaneously with promotion of high-end art works in the gallery.

“The response has been encouraging. It not only inspires this generation to take interest in art, it also helps several new talented artists reach out,” adds Rashi.

You have to take your work home, stay on your toes 24x7, but the sisters are not complaining. “Gallery Kolkata will continue working in close association with the best of Indian modern and contemporary artists. We will make sure that young talented artists achieve their rightful place and global audience,” says Meghna.

And their job at hand includes expanding to important art destinations like New York, London, Dubai and Hong Kong. They also have plans up their sleeves to showcase Indian artists in collaborative shows nationally and internationally.

Though the city, being a hub of art and culture, is quite indulgent when it comes to fields like the Agarwalas, the sisters agree there are miles to go.