Now, get high on art

New Delhi: Love, bitterness, tears and passion: A heady concoction of various human emotions put on canvas by 40 artists will be part of an exhibition that will get connoisseurs 'High on Art', as the show is titled.

Put together by Barclays, a leading British financial services group that is set to enter the Indian market, the art show will be up for public view from July 27-31 at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.

Keen on associating with "high net worth individuals", the Barclays' initiative will see some of the best names in Indian contemporary art as well as those who have just started their artistic career but have shown immense potential, a statement here said.

According to art historian Bhavna Kakar, the exhibition would capture the essence of the artists' spirit when they are "high on art" and on the onlookers experience when he/she becomes high on the artists' high.

On this platform, artists will express pain, joy, trepidation, dilemma, exuberance, anxiety and pathos in their own personalised language. The sense of freedom in each artist is celebrated through diverse languages and media such as oil on canvas, mixed media, water colours, charcoal on paper and acrylic on canvas.

"Barclays is proud to be associated with these artists, some of whom are celebrated names and some who without doubt will make this country proud in the years to come," said Samir Bhatia, managing director, India and Indian Ocean for Barclays retail and commercial banking in India.

The art works include Seema Kohli's mixed media work titled 'Flight in Surrender', which showcases her belief that with rising stature in life comes the responsibility of being humble. Binoy Varghese gives vent to his emotions connected to the displaced people and immigrants on his canvas.

The works of Akbar Padamsee, A Ramachandran, Kalicharan Gupta, Gopi Gajwani and Suchitra Krishnamoorthi will also be showcased.

A part of the proceeds will go to an NGO called Khushii, which works for the betterment of the poor, especially underprivileged children.