Though an artist himself and the owner of a small art gallery, Jayanth Kumar has yet to hold an exhibition of his own. Currently, he is happy providing that platform for upcoming artistes. The place, hardly five months old, has already held more than eight exhibitions.Jayanth’s Kerala Art Gallery on Nettipadam Road is a far cry from the plush and upmarket ones one generally sees. His is a small and simple one, done up with an aesthetic touch. Jayanth has his reasons for going in for a modest place.“Not all artists can afford a big gallery to exhibit their canvasses. They would end up spending upwards of Rs 30,000 at such places,” says Jayanth.An amateur artist can never walk into a big gallery because of the initial investment. Thus there are many artists whose works have not seen the light of day. This is yet another reason why there are not many artists coming up in our country, he believes. His gallery charges only Rs 5000 which mostly goes towards the monthly rent of the place.Along with offering this opportunity for artists, Jayanth also provides free brochures of the exhibition and prepares media releases which he himself delivers. So how does he make ends meet, you might wonder? He says he works extra hours at his small photostat cum DTP center at his home in Thiruvankulam.An artist at heart, he does oil canvasses and has completed 35 paintings so far. Unethical and corrupt activities in the society is the central theme of all his paintings. To voice the wrongdoings of the system, he has also made a facebook account called ‘Worldwide Art Movement’ which 1450 people already follow. In the city he along with 15 other artists come together often for events of social relevance.“When the issue of ban on endosulfan was going on, many of us artists in the city got together at Fort Kochi. From 8 am till 6 in the evening we painted continuously. That was our way of protesting,” he says.He has paintings where he talks about 'aminosol', the relationship between man and woman, good and evil etc. In another painting he talks about how virginity is for sale in the society. Till 2002 he worked for his dad and then went in search of another job in Mangalapuram. “It was in Mangalapuram that I began painting again. And in 2010 I came back to Ernakulam to open up a art gallery.”Jayanth’s main aim is to give as many budding artists a change to showcase their talent. At the same time, he wants the prices to be affordable enough so that the common man can buy them. “By 2020 there should be more and more smaller galleries like this. That will allow artists to have more outlets to showcase their work,” says Kumar. For details email: [email protected][email protected]
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