Art for a Cause

Curated by Anoop Kamath, the show at the Art Gallery in India International Centre, comprises 45 works by 30 artists, including Riyas Komu, Bose Krishnamachari and Arpana Caur. It is aimed at raising funds for Mehac Foundation (Mental Health Care and Research Foundation), which provides psychiatric care for patients and their families in several districts of Kerala. “Few of the works have also been created by patients and doctors. It will be a great boost to the foundation, as they are now expanding their initiatives in north India,” says Kamath.

A doctor by profession, Sangeeta Sharma’s untitled work is a portrait of a woman, where colourful beads merge to form a butterfly on her head. Artist Ritu Kamath creates the wings of a bird using polycarbonate on paper, spread across her canvas.

Seema Kohli incorporates a philosophical concept into her mixed media works, culled from The Golden Womb series, created in 2012. In one canvas the feminine form, sitting atop a lotus, encircled within a golden sun, is surrounded by several smaller replicas of the same image. Kohli says, “It is inspired by the concept of the Hiranyagarbha or the ‘golden womb’ in Indian philosophy. Everything is recreated and recycled and it deals with the power of creation in the womb. This energy emerges from a feminine source.”

The exhibition is at Art Gallery, Annexe Building, IIC, till February 28. Contact: 24619431