Week ahead

A cartel that does not care for jalebees but makes very good music. The screening of director Chris Nolan's two films (not The Dark Knight). 20 galleries to feast on, next Sunday, and, the genius of creative genius. Gitanjali Dang reviews items likely to catch your eye and hold your attention next week

What meltdown?

ART: Conceptual and performance artist Chris Burden's planned show at the Gagosian Gallery in Los Angeles has been postponed. Indefinitely. Why? Because Burden's show had required 100 kg of gold bricks and the company, Stanford Coins and Bullion, from whom this was being sourced is now at the nucleus of a humongous fraud investigation. This scandal, of course, is just another footnote in the meltdown that has gripped the world economy. But if one were to go by what the Assomull brothers, Marigold Fine Art Gallery, New Delhi, have to say, then it would seem like none of the ongoing scandals have hindered their sales.

Around 18 months ago, Gaurav and Vickram Assomull, came up with a business model. Not long after, they were all set to roll but then August and September happened, and the economic meltdown took over. "We decided to go ahead with our plans of inaugurating a gallery in Delhi because we were convinced we had a sound business model," says Gaurav Assomull.

And convinced they are.

This coming week, Marigold will conduct a special showing of 'European masters' in the city. Titled The Genius of Perverspective, the show includes works by Picasso, Serge Mendjisky, Salvador Dali, Arman, Stephane Cipre and others. According to the men at the helm these works are sourced directly from the artists. And in the case of artists such as Picasso and Dali, the Assomulls have sourced works directly from their respective estates.

"On the opening night of our Delhi gallery, 90% of the works were snapped up. Thus far we have exceeded our expectations. I understand that the Delhi and the Bombay markets are anything but alike. This exhibition will help us gauge the market here. And if all goes well we plan to inaugurate our Bombay space in September," says an optimistic Assomull.

The Genius of Perverspective at The Viewing Room, Elysium Mansion, 4th Floor, Colaba Causeway. From March 18 until 21

I told you so

ART: On March 22 (next Sunday), various art galleries in the city will remain functional on a day that has thus far been one of rest for most art establishments. This move is a test run and will only consolidate its presence if the viewer indeed turns up. Where some galleries are organising special previews of their upcoming shows, others are simply throwing open their doors.

This move also provides the much-clobbered National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) which is functional on Sundays a rare opportunity to gloat, turn around and hiss, "I told you so."

Participating galleries are Art & Soul (Rabin Mondal), Art Musings (Reena Kallat, Shibu Natesan, Gopikrishna, Nalini Malani, Raghava KK), Bodhi Art (Sheila Makhijani), Bombay Art Gallery (Rajesh), Chatterjee & Lal (Hitesh Natalwala), Chemould Prescott Road (LN Tallur), Farah Siddiqui Contemporary Art (group show), Gallery Beyond (Ratna Gupta), Gallery Maskara (Narendra Yadav), Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke (Aji V N), The Guild Art Gallery (Godown curated by Gitanjali Dang), Hacienda Art Gallery (group Show), Institute of Contemporary Indian Art (A show of around 300 works predominantly from the secondary market at fantastic prices), India Fine Art (Viraj Naik), Jamaat (group show), NCPA's Gallery of Modern Art (Lakeeren Gallery's retrospective group show), The Osmosis Gallery (various artists), Priyasri Art Gallery (group show), Project 88 (Rohini Devasher), Sakshi Gallery (Valay Shende), Studio Napean (group show: A Vietnamese Pallete, an exhibition of affordable decorative art by unknown Vietnamese artists) and Tao Art Gallery (Veer Munshi).

Point taken

MUSIC: The The last time Jalebee Cartel performed in Bombay not many feet in the house were left untrammelled. Fewer spleens were left unjabbed. Wonder which part of the anatomy will get knuckled when the Cartel return for the launch of their debut full-length album entitled Onepointnothing?

Arjun Vagale, one of the four members that comprise Jalebee Cartel, explains, "We have released over 50 singles internationally but none are accessible in India. Onepointnothing contains some old tracks and a lot of new music. It highlights the evolution of our sound within and without the electronic dance music genre."

"We are into tech house. But the album is not all bang bang dance music. It's also a listener's album. Since we're all into rock at some point of time, we've included some heavy guitar distortions in the album." Tough Cookie, their first video, has been made by the photographer Bharat Sikka and is currently doing the rounds of music channels and online video fora. At first glance, visually, the video appears to be a cross between Richard Linklater's Waking Life (2001) and A Scanner Darkly (2006) and Ari Folman's Waltz With Bashir (2008). In reality it is anything but. Neither rotoscoped like Linklater's two nor Flash-animated like Bashir's documentary. It is the product of stop motion animation. In Hindi, one popular adage goes, "Jalebee ki tarha seedha." And that pretty much sums up Jalebee Cartel. Looking forward to more twists and turns.

Jalebee Cartel perform at Blue Frog on March 20 and 21. From 10.30 pm onwards. DadA Music presents Onepointnothing at Rs 300.

Are you in the loop?

FILM: Although Christopher Nolan and his films have been around for sometime now Following (1998) was his first full-length feature the last 12 months or thereabouts have proven to be particularly critical for the man.
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This, at least, as far as his popularity in India is concerned. First, the untimely death of Heath Ledger resulted in The Dark Knight running to packed houses. And then suddenly Ghajini happened and everyone wanted to know what this Memento thingie was all about.

Despite the fact that The Dark Knight has overcrowded most imaginations, Memento (2000) really is Nolan's piece de resistance. A nonlinear story, it is certainly loopholed, but the visual stylisations and the formal play, background and dwarf any and all doubts.

The Prestige (2006) is unquestionably Nolan's most peculiar film. It is broody and constantly on the verge of a nervous breakdown. This period story, about two rival magicians, has all the frisson of a typical Nolan production but oddly enough it is devoid of a thumping denouement. Which truth be told makes it all the more intriguing.

Enlighten Film Society presents Christopher Nolan's The Prestige and Memento at Godrej Dance Academy Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point. At 6.30 pm on March 16 and March 17 respectively