Bose Krishnamachari, Rajendra Kapse and Hema Upadhya at The Oberoi art camp brunch yesterday
Pic: Shailesh Mule
For the most part, the end result was strictly okay. However, as an event it worked.
The lush cuisine, the champagne, the ambience boasting the scenic calm of the Arabian sea and all the things that make you feel like Parmeshwar Godrej for all of 20 minutes sufficed in making it a delightful afternoon. But then there are telephone bills, rent and bounced cheques to worry about.
In many ways, the credit for the event should go more to the Oberoi than to Gallery Beyond whose repertoire of artists failed to stimulate for the most part.
Of all on display, Rajendra Kapse, Uday Mondal and Sudarshan Shetty were interesting. The others comprised for camp art. And camp in this case is more five star picnic than genre.
Art camps if aspiring to transcend beyond event management require intelligent conceptual thrust. And gallerists who choose to take on art camps of this stature need to do more homework, bring forth fresher ideas and use the perquisites of hospitality towards larger goals than a brunch.
The brunch works well for invitees and the press, and the Oberoi still manages to stand tall because it has initiated the culture of art camps in Mumbai city.
However for South Asias only metropolis, an art camp can provide opportunity for a lot more edge than oysters and champagne. But credit where its due. The oysters and champagne were damn good. And so were the desserts.
