KNMA brings artistic endeavours from Delhi to Chennai

CHENNAI: To provide Chennaiites with the opportunity to appreciate art, the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) is bringing its collections to Chennai for the first time. Titled ‘The Moving Arc - Artistic Endeavours in India (1940s onwards),’ the exhibition was inaugurated by Kiran Nadar on Wednesday.

An ardent art collector, Kiran Nadar is the chairperson of the museum and trustee of the Shiv Nadar Foundation. The museum opened its doors to the public in 2010 in New Delhi. It is claimed to be the first private museum of art exhibiting modern and contemporary works from India. “Thirteen years ago, the idea of starting a private museum came into existence because I wanted to share my collections with others,” starts Kiran, who was in Chennai for the inauguration.

At the beginning of her collections, Kiran had 400 art pieces. Now, the number has increased to 13,000 artworks. Her museum aims to bridge the gap between art and the public while also fostering the culture of museum-going in the country. She was recognised as the ‘Hero of Philanthropy’ by Forbes Asia Magazine in 2010 for launching India’s first philanthropic private museum.

“It is an encyclopedic collection starting from sculptures and paintings from artists belonging to different time periods like Chola, modern, contemporary and many more,” says the aesthete. “Compared to the markets globally, India’s art market is small but it is consistently growing and will soon be on par with countries across the world. The number of collectors as well as artists are increasing day by day,” she adds.

Kiran feels that people have started exploring different genres of art, which is resulting in the expansion of the scope. The crowd of youngsters is rising at many art fairs. “This is a positive sign. We will soon have young collectors dominating the field, which takes the movement forward,” she believes. Kiran’s all-time favourite artists list includes Ravi Varma, MF Husain and Francis Newton Souza, among others.

For the Chennai exhibition, The Moving Arc, Kiran has curated 160 artworks from her collection. Some of the pieces have a strong connection with South India while a few are from her unique collections. The artworks showcased at the Chennai museum include sculptures and paintings. “Through this event, I want people here to appreciate and embrace art and also start being a part of the same,” wishes the philanthropist.

Presented together by Madras Art Weekend and Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, The Moving Arc - Artistic Endeavours in India (1940s onwards) is open for public viewing till December 22 from 11 am to 7 pm at the Lalit Kala Academy.