A four-day multi-faceted arts festival at IGNCA provides artists, art connoisseurs an opportunity to understand, appreciate and facilitate the birth of new forms of art TEXT: TEAM ART SOUL LIFE
There are numerous examples of architects also engaging in visual arts and visual artists designing buildings. From Leonardo da Vince to Michelangelo and Le Corbusier to Satish Gujral – all have excelled in all forms of creative expression. While architects have an eye for colour, form, texture, and space, visual artists use colours and geometries of mundane objects to craft paintings and sculpture. To further illustrate this unity of arts achieved through the integration of architecture, design and visual arts, one only has to visit the houses designed by late Satish Gujral: “To live in a house designed by him is not easy, for it is not simply brick and mortar, but is indeed a living sculpture, to hold life in all its myriad moods,” remarked a critic.
Twenty-eight years old Dushyant Joshi is one such bright architect whose foray into design and art came about after he got a chance to work on the set for the Bollywood film Panipat directed by Ashutosh Gowariker. The stint enabled him to explore set design in greater depth, and designer Masoom Rizvi helped him to further deepen his understanding of the elements of design and the essence of curation.
To give an expression to his newly formed interest, Dushyant founded ART Amigos with the aim to provide all aspiring and established visual artists with the platform, opportunities and support to help them thrive and build a culture conducive for their growth.
Last month in May Dushyant curated a unique exhibition ’Palash’- a festival of arts at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, Janpath Hotel, New Delhi. This multidimensional show provided artists and art connoisseurs an opportunity to understand, appreciate and to facilitate the birth of new forms of art. Over 40 artists such as Makhan Saha, Geeta Dass, Binu Gupta, Prince Chand and Rashmi Malhotra displayed their work. There were also 45 stalls put up by the artists belonging to different schools and styles.
The workshops held as part of the exhibition were to initiate visitors into learning and appreciating works of art. Dushyant credits Shubjit, Arjit and Sagrika for the valuable help extended in mounting this magnificent show.
Last year Dushyant was awarded at the festival of Architecture & Design in the category of young creative minds. Going by the knowledge and the commitment that Dushyant brings to his new found endeavour, it is only a matter of time before ART Amigos receives due recognition in promoting art and culture, and emerges as a leading transparent and credible marketplace, particularly for the young aspiring artists. For Dushyant, an exhibition is in many ways a series of conversations between the artist and viewer, curator and viewer, and between the works of art themselves. To him, architecture is not so much a “knowledge of form but a form of knowledge.”
Dushyant has to live up to the rich reputation that his parents enjoy in the society: Dr. Sachidanand and Malavika Joshi, who are both noted literary figures and connoisseurs of art and culture.
