Goan Art Could Be The Next Big Thing

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With a distinct identity and works marked by freshness, Goan art could be the next big thing.

• Anoop Kamath's "Kokum Dreams" at Gallerie Nvya in Delhi: a brilliant mosaic of flat colours - red for sand, green for the vegetable markets, blue for the ocean - contrasts with the stark black and white portraits of Goan people. Kokum Dreams is a solo exhibition of paintings by Anoop Kamath. The exhibition explores the unknown faces of Goa. These include a variety of people the artists have come to notice in his frequent trips to the place, these include the old lady on the beach, the fishermen, the ladies selling vegetables and fish in Mapusa market, the acrobats on Anjuna beach.

• In Mumbai, at Gallery Beyond, "Yellow from the sun, blue from the sea" features Goan artists Subodh Kerkar, Swatee Nair, Chaitali Morajkar, Santosh Morajkar, Suhas Shilker, Praveen Naik and Francis d'Souza.

• Back in Delhi, gallerist Tripat Kalra of Nvya says her next show is by Goan artist Viraj Naik. Other shows by Rajan Fullari and Subodh Kerkar are in planning, and curator Alka Pande is discussing a Goan retrospective in 2008.

Suddenly, Goan art is all the buzz. It may not be recognised as an independent school yet, but Goa could be the next big thing with young talent gaining both recognition and patronage in generous measure.

It wasn't always this easy. "Living in Goa and making it big has always proved tough for artists," says Subodh Kerkar, one of the few who decided to stay on in the state and not migrate to more lucrative art destinations. A doctor-turned-artist, Kerkar set up a gallery (Kerkar Art Complex) to make his presence known.

"There are no big collectors here," laments Kerkar. "It's a tourist haven and tourists buy only souvenirs, not art." Earlier, those who chose to move on included among them F N Souza, Angelo de Fonseca, Antonio Xavier Trinidade, V Gaitonde and Laxman Pai.

Collectively, they represent Goa, but is there a well-defined Goan style, or has each artist grown in an individual space? "Culturally and historically, Goa has been very different from any other state," says Swatee Nair.

"Its Portuguese past has granted it a separate identity which percolates down to its people. Therefore, the artists have enjoyed freedom of thought and a folklorish quality in their expression." It isn't something that translated into market dynamics and could be a possible explanation of why the masters shunned their native identities.

Today, Souza and Gaitonde are better known as Progressives from Mumbai, Fonseca for his Santiniketan leanings (till he switched back to painting his own land and people), and even Laxman Pai who headed the Goa school of art for a while, left it for personal pursuits.

Pic From: Sabina Fernandes