A journey to the centre of art & art curation
“An illustrative journey through canvas that we wish for each one of you to experience” – words that best describe ‘Perceptions’, an art show featuring 30 acrylic paintings by a solo artist, all curated by Krea student Shreyasi Patil.
Shreyasi Patil is an enterprising second-year student at the School of Interwoven Arts and Sciences (SIAS), Krea University. Her academic interests include Business, Social Science and Economics. Outside of academics, you will probably find her learning and picking up life skills such as negotiating and managing accounts, and poring over her understanding of arts and emotions, with a tinge of literature, politics, cooking, and entrepreneurship. Shreyasi has now ventured into curating artworks, with her first show all set to open on 26 March 2021 at the Rangoli Metro Art Centre located in the heart of Bengaluru, Karnataka.
“The show is called ‘Perceptions’. We want people to experience perceptions, so we are looking at emotions – a great example of perceptions. For instance, when we use the word love, irrespective of what language we use it in, the experience isn’t the same for everyone. The myriad of experience is what the art show explores. The artworks are not abstract; they’re very visually clear, using mythology as a tool to describe emotions,” shares Shreyasi.
While this might be her first art curation, it isn’t her first project. Inspired by her interactions with Prof Srajana Kaikini (Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Krea), Prof Akhila Ramnarayan (Associate Professor of Practice at Krea), and Meera Trivedi (a student from her cohort), Shreyasi began exploring the world of representing and curating art, delving into the nuances that go into making a stellar art show which appeals to other creators and audience alike. Her projects with her two Krea faculty members and her classmate is still a work-in-progress.
Sharing the story behind ‘Perceptions’, Shreyasi recalls that it was a chance encounter on Instagram that led to her meeting the artist in person. “In Bengaluru, there’s Church Street where vehicles are not allowed and artists simply sit down and produce and showcase their work. I went there with a friend one day and we ended up buying a lot of art from a particular artist called ‘The Artist Spud’. After meeting him a few times, I approached him, asking him if he would like to do an art show together. His work is primarily inspired by mythologies. So one fine day, we got cracking, broke down what we could showcase and thus, ‘Perceptions’ happened.”
It is believed that behind every art exhibit or gallery, there is a committed curator, who works relentlessly with the artist to not just put up a great show for the audience but also take the conversation about art and its artist forward. Through her maiden art show, 19-year-old Shreyasi also picked up some real-life skills – a learning experience that resonates with Krea’s ethos.
“I learnt to see the pragmatic side and the creative side of art. Admittedly, I found it challenging to find a middle ground between the artist’s creativity and the more practical side of curating art; it was still a good learning experience wherein I learnt the art of negotiation whilst being careful about where the money is going,” she elucidates.
Shreyasi’s art show ‘Perceptions’ is happening on the 26-28 March 2021 at the Rangoli Metro Art Centre at MG Road, Bengaluru. For more information, visit the Instagram page: @perceptions_2021