MB Maps: Art Crawl

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A. Sakshi Gallery
Tanna House, 11A Nathalal Parekh Marg, Colaba. Tel:6610 3424.
One of the city’s heavy-weight galleries with an enviable roster of contemporary names like Riyas Komu, Shibu Natesan and Justin Ponmany. Traditionalists will love the largely conventional subject matter and media, which even when experimental, sticks within the boundaries of comfort.

B. Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke
2 Sunny House, 16/18 Mereweather Road, Colaba. Tel: 2202 3030.
This three-room airy space (with arched windows to boot) brings in noteworthy international names like Kiki Smith and Jonathan Meese, and also rotates through an expertly curated list of home-grown talent like Tejal Shah, Mansi Bhatt and Abir Karmakar.

C. Chatterjee & Lal
01/18 Kamal Mansion, above Ambience Art Emporium, Arthur Bunder Road, Colaba. Tel: 6521 5105.
A compact one-room space showing emerging, affordable talent like Minam Apang (vibrant ink drawings), Aditya Pande (computer-generated scribbles), and performance artist Nikhil Chopra. A good induction for budding art collectors.

D. Volte
2/19 Kamal Mansion, same entrance as Hotel White Pearl, Arthur Bunder Road, near Radio Club. Tel: 2204 1220.
One of the new entrants to the Colaba art scene, Volte is more than just a display space, often holding lectures and screenings. Hosts young and mid-career artists who’ve had little visibility, like Baroda-based Boshudhara Mukherjee and music producer Mukul Deora. They also have a great collection of niche art books, including periodicals and magazines like Art Review.

The Guild
02/32 Kamal Mansion, above Volte, Arthur Bunder Road, near Radio Club. Tel: 2288 0116.
Among the first to display now-contemporary darlings TV Santhosh and Riyas Komu, The Guild frequently picks emerging talent that stands the test of time.

E. The Strand Art Room
Ama House, Brahma Kumari Marg, Colaba, around the corner from Strand Cinema. Tel: 3299 1008.
It’s hard to miss the bright red facade and big display windows at this small one-room space known for its annual Baroda March show, which brings in young artists from India’s premiere art school at MS University, Baroda. A great place for newbies to pick up affordable art. NB. The Strand Art Room has since closed.

F. Lakeeren Gallery
6/18 Grants Building, Second Floor, opposite Basilico Restaurant, Arthur Bunder Road, Colaba. Tel: 6522 4179.
One of Colaba’s older galleries, and also its least known, this narrow space has a roster of big contemporary names like photographers Gauri Gill and Hetain Patel and contemporary artists like Mithu Sen, Chintan Upadhyay and Shilpa Gupta.

G. Gallery Maskara
6/7 Third Pasta Lane, Colaba. Tel: 2202 3056.
With ceilings nearly 50ft-high, this former warehouse shows large-scale, and often controversial works. Think mammoth floating dolls, sexually explicit paintings and complex audio-visual installations. Best for new media mavens, and philosophers who dig conceptual art that provokes debate.

H. Mumbai Art Room
Pipewala Building, opposite Navy Children School, Fourth Pasta Lane. Colaba. Tel: 97699 50136.
The latest entry to the art world, this small non-profit space (it’s just 325 square feet) was started by American expat Susan Hapgood as a way to give back to the people of Mumbai. Hapgood spent 30 years a curator and arts administrator in New York City before moving to the city last year, so expect a mix of American and Indian artists who, she says, “will push the boundaries of convention”.

I. Project 88
BMP Building, Ground Floor, N.A. Sawant Marg, Colaba. Tel: 2281 0066.
This cavernous space with exposed beams and iron pillars alternates between big names like Bharat Sikka, Bharti Kher and Vivan Sunderam and little known ones, like recent art grad Hemali Bhuta who uses candles and alum to fashion her giant installations.

J. Art Musings
1 Admirality Building, Colaba Cross Lane, Colaba. Tel: 2216 3339.
An old school gallery with heavy-weight Progressives (think SH Raza, MF Husain, FN Souza) and young talent like cartoonist KK Raghava. Best for seasoned collectors who know their Aras from their Souzas.

M. Gallery BMB
Queens Mansion, Ground Floor, next to Cathedral School, G. Talwatkar Marg. Fort. Tel: 6171 5757.
Partly owned by artist Bose Krishnamachari, Gallery BMB has one of the largest spaces in town with about 5,000 sq ft that shows big name artists from India and the world (they brought in the Chapman brothers for their inaugural show). Added bonus: the in-house Banyan Tree Cafe, which has great  sandwiches.

Chemould Prescott Road Gallery
Queens Mansion, Third Floor, next to Cathedral Middle School, G. Talwatkar Marg. Fort. Tel: 2200 0211.
One of the country’s oldest galleries, Chemould has the distinction of representing the biggest names in modern and contemporary art. Expect a who’s who of the art world in this loft-like space still run by the Gandhy family who founded it in 1963.

N. Matthieu Foss Gallery (Update: the gallery has since shuttered)
Hansraj Damodar Trust Building, Ground Floor, Goa Street , Ballard Estate. Tel: 6747 7261/62.
This transplanted Parisienne’s eponymous space focuses exclusively on photography, from the formal portraiture of Canadian Marcus Leatherdale to the posed set-ups of Sanjeev Khandekar.