DINANATH DALAL MEMORIAL ART EDUCATION CENTRE

PONDA

To mark its first year the Dinanath Dalal Memorial Art Education Centre in Ponda hosted an exhibition of watercolour artworks

NAGUESH  RAO  SARDESSAI

Dinanath Dalal Memorial Art Education Centre, Ponda, is celebrating its first anniversary of establishment with an exhibition of watercolour paintings of well established watercolour practitioners from Goa, at Bambolkar’s Art Gallery.

The artists displaying their works are Girish gujar, Kalidas Satardekar, Bazil Mota, Omkar Surendra Sirsat, Ramchandra Shet Narvekar, Kalanand alias Anant Shridhar Kamat Bambolkar, Saish Parab, Omkar Banaule, Darshan Shetye and Shridhar Kamat Bambolkar.

This eclectic mix of young as well as senior artists’ works in the gallery displays stylistic variety and interesting technical approach. ‘The idea is to offer platform to the artists from across Goa and create a vibrant atmosphere for art to flourish and artists to experiment,’ says the Director of the education centre and curator of this show, Shridhar Kamat Bambolkar.

Inaugurating the first anniversary show, chief guest of the function Minister of Art & Culture, Govind Gawde assured that art in general and visual artists in particular will be given due support and their concerns addressed by his ministry.

Being an art educationist, with several decades of experience as an art teacher as well as heading various art related committees established by government and non government organizations, Shridhar brings in a lot of innovative approach to running this centre. Students here range from young school kids to art enthusiasts to retired citizens who have a flare and passion for art.

This show is a step in that direction. With ten artist and thirty works on display, Shridhar seem to have celebrated thirty years of Statehood of Goa in a unique way. These artists are consistently working in this medium and over the years created a space for themselves as quality watercolour practitioners. Having shown their works independently and then as in the recent past in a group show, Shridhar conceptualized the show to spread awareness of this medium amongst the residents of Ponda.

Shridhar is a veteran with several years of experience in the field of art. Innumerable shows, numerous awards, noteworthy commendations and several commissioned works to his credit, Shridhar is the guiding force for number of Goan artists. Here, he has put up landscapes that reflect his love for nature in general and Goa in particular. Girish and Kalidas have exhibited in various group shows and had solo exhibitions.

Girish, an applied artist from Aurangabad, Maharashtra got recognition quite early on after coming to Goa. Specializing in watercolour landscapes, Girish began to catch the attention of art connoisseurs, collectors and others in the late nineties. And since then, he has not looked back.

Kalidas, a teacher by profession, remains consistent in his practice in spite of his busy schedule. From an Illustrator cum Visualizer in Mumbai, Kalidas has carved a niche for himself as a watercolor artist.

Darshan, Omkar Sirsat and Ramchandra have shown extraordinary talent and admirable refinement over these years. Omkar Banaule, Masters in Fine Arts from Sir J J School of Art, have participated in several exhibitions and received awards, such as Art Society of India and Prafulla Dahanukar Art Foundation Award. Saish, display intermittently, yet his output is appreciable. Bazil is new to exhibition scene and this is the second show he is displaying his works at.

Kalanand has shown at several shows and contributed to various cultural groups. An avid theatre buff, he is deeply involved in every aspect of art such as set designing, acting, photography, illustration, book cover design etc. and have received commendations for the same. Regularly involved in painting at his studio, Kalanand’s works are culturally rooted and watercolour landscapes are naturally vibrant.

The other guests present were entrepreneur Sandip Nigalye and initiator of Sneha Mandir Ramkrishna Nayak. The works were on view till June 12, 2017 at the gallery of the education centre at Rajdeep Galleria.