It is said that an artist normally creates works only for
his or her own satisfaction, but as the nineteenth century American author
Albert Pike said, “What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we
have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.”
That is the philosophy which moves Aapsa Arts, who are now
on the threshold of their second Art for Life programme which will feature not
only the works of more than thirty artists, but also performances by some very
eminent musicians.
This year’s Art for Life is a charitable fund-raising art
event for the victims of the holocaust which hit Uttarakhand in the form of
ravaging floods. Part of the proceeds of the event organized by Aapsa Art and
sponsored by DLF5 and DLF Foundation from 18 to 20 October at DLF Club 5, Phase
V in Gurgaon, will go towards the relief and rehabilitation of the victims of
the floods.
The event was inaugurated by His Excellence Dr Aziz Qureshi,
the Governor of Uttarakhand. The music concert commenced with renowned sarod
maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, who recently gave a special performance at the
United Nations in New York to mark the 144th Birth anniversary of Mahatma
Gandhi. He was accompanied by his talented sons - and sarod performers in their
own right, Amaan Ali Khan and Ayaan Ali Khan.
The second day will see Ghazal maestro and singer Jaswinder
Singh and Aalok Shrivastav recite special poetry for Uttarakhand.
The eminent artists
whose art works will be on display during the Art for Life Festival will
include renowned names like M F Hussain, S H Raza, Arpana Caur, KR Santhana,
Manu Parekh, Paresh Maity, Chintan Upandhyay, Roy Thomas, Manish Pushkale,
Prashant Sahu, Rajendra Kapse, Sanjeev Sonpimpare, Sidharth, Vijendra Sharme,
Pratul Dash, Avijit Dutta, S. Harashvardhan, Dileep Sharma, Birendra Pani,
Chandra Bhattacharjee, Farhad Hussain and Murali Cheeroth.
In addition, there will be works of art by Dharmendra
Rathore, who created Aapsa Arts with a vision for creating a platform for new
media art, and is a room for creative endeavour, aesthetic exploration and
visual dialogue. It attempts to discover established and emerging artists, and
promote art in rural India, apart from creating social awareness of art. It also
looks at ways to create acceptance and greater synergies among artists.
Clearly believing in the philosophy of being humanitarian
and not just human, Aapsa has organized blood donation camps in association
with Red Cross, taken the initiative to remove social evils like casteism from
villages and rural areas, provided medicines and funds to pregnant poor women
during the last month of pregnancy, and given funds to provide the mother and
the child proper food and care in addition to providing scholarship to poor and
hardworking students in the rural areas, especially girls. It has also worked
to save the environment by taking the initiative of planting trees in the
neighbourhood.
Aapsa Art has also provided a platform to the folk artists
in rural areas by exhibiting their works along with modern contemporary
artists.
Born in 1966 in Rajasthan to a Rajput Family, Dharmendra
Rathore did his bachelors in paintings from the Rajasthan School of Art and
later his masters from Delhi College of Art. He gained experience during his
college days by working with legendary masters like Ram Gopal Vijaywargiya, and
then on miniatures with Bannu ji and Kripal Singh. Sanganeri blocks, prints and
carpet weaving from local experts have all helped it hone in his artistic
expression and technique.
Dharmendra keeps experimenting and loves innovation as he
constantly reinvents the artist in himself, and has found his way in the
labyrinths of the art scene in the capital city, winning him several awards and
much critical acclaim including a listing amongst come of Delhi’s top
contemporary young artists.
Dharmendra has participated in many national and
international solo and group shows, and was awarded the State Award of
Rajasthan Lalit Kala Akademy Jaipur including the All India AIFACS New Delhi
and the Outstanding Painting Award All India Biennial Rajasthan, Jaipur.
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