Celebrated his life long pledge to take art beyond the confinement of four walls
Maestro Satish Gujral’s lifelong commitment to art in the public space by initiating, The Bikaner House, public art program. over an evening of Art & Conversation over cocktails. He spent a lifetime promoting the prospect of displaying rare art in public for all to see. He even travelled to Mexico, a young artist in the early 60s, to master the art of mural making, an art form that could easily light up public spaces.
Painter, sculpture, architect, muralist and writer, Satish Gujral today loaned his very majestic sculpture Trinity to Bikaner House, Delhi. He gifted this sculpture to his youngest daughter, renowned interior designer Raseel Gujral, who felt that art appreciators needed to see this piece of art and supported her father’s endeavor whole heartedly.
The exhibit was accompanied by a limited edition of ten miniature versions of the sculpture for collectors to acquire and take home. The evening also marked the roll-out of Satish Gujral’s series of public art installations across prominent landmarks in Delhi & Mumbai slated for 2018.
“ Wall art is a revolt against man’s fate. If all art ever made was confined within four walls would we ever have had a Mahabalipuram? Or a Khajuraho? Or even a Florence for that matter. Its sad that as consumerism consumed us Indians, we, in contemporary times forgot the sheer virtue of placing a piece of art in a public space for all to admire and imbibe from, “ informs the maestro himself.
A virtue he never forgot and practiced all his life. Even creating architectural marvels that look like a piece of art. The Belgian Embassy in New Delhi, the UNESCO building and more recently the Ambedkar Park in Lucknow stand testimony to his journey with public art. Many of his murals are part of historic buildings, universities and institutions across India.
Trinity celebrates the three worlds, also subliminally suggesting the eternal bond between life-death-rebirth. A circle suggesting the proverbial circle of life encases the men seen in Gujral’s sculptures, rejoicing every realm with spiritual gusto. “ It is to me one of the most sublime of his works. An encapsulation of his beliefs. And large enough to grace a public space,” feels Raseel.
Artists, diplomats, designers, industrialists and many more from Delhi’s cultural realm gathered for the evening dedicated to art maestro Satish Gujral. Dr. Karan Singh, Sakti Burman, Jatin Das, Gopi Gajwani, Subodh Gupta, Sanjay Bhattacharya, Raja randhir Singh of Patiala Naresh Trehan, Partibha Advani, Meera & Muzaffar Ali, Meenu Bakshi, Ashi Burman, Sujat Khan, Reena Dhaka and many more were seen at the event were seen at the event.
Art lovers can view Trinity for the next three months at Bikaner House, which is slowly emerging as the most powerful cultural hub of India. Satish Gujral will also unveil his recent canvases during the art fair later in January at the same venue.