Art galleries across the city and suburbs have started taking out old, unsold paintings and displaying them. Monsoon is a lean period for artists, since buyers do not seem to be interested in getting out in the rain and going all the way to the galleries. Artists avoid showing their works during the monsoon – from July to September.
The works of top artists which have remained unsold is not because they are not good but because a gallery owner has not got the price he expects. An owner will wait for the right price and hence will not a sell a Raza or Shakti Burman painting for less. We have galleries now showing paintings of top artists – a sort of group show. Some of the top artists on display could be Raza, Anjolie Ela Menon, Ram Kumar, Shakti Burman, Badri Narayan, Bendre.
The Nehru Centre art gallery and a few others hold what they call a monsoon show. It is a show in which promising new artists’ works are shown. The young artists grab the chance for showing their works to the public. What is to be noted is the struggle of artists has not ended.
There are thousands of artists across the country who are making frenzied efforts to sell their works. Private art galleries want to keep their establishments going and hence they just cannot display works by unknown artists. The young artist has to build his signature value. And in this bitter struggle, some fall by the wayside or quit the art scenario and take up some job to remain alive.