Artists get working on art copies

Ashoke Nag KOLKATA 3 NOVEMBER

HERE's AN ART house which has embarked on a novel venture. It's called The Serigraph Studio and it is collaborating with top-notch painters to churn out original, hand-crafted prints of artists' works. The Mumbai studio has already networked with around 20 painters to come up with multiple serigraphic compositions, in the original, of prints, paintings and drawings created by the artists.

The serigraphs, conceptualised, monitored and signed by the artists, are being produced in Europe based on standards prescribed by London's Fine art trade guild (FATG).

Among the artists with whom the studio has tied up are S.H. Raza, Jogen Chowdhury, Jehangir Sabavala, Rameshwar Broota, Paritosh Sen, Sakti Burman, Ganesh Haloi and Lalu Prasad Shaw. “The Serigraph Studio was conceived around 2003. The project is aimed at promoting fine art prints of original compositions. These prints revolve around hand-crafted prints. The prints will be in serigraphic medium.

The serigraphs are conceived by the painter and one may see a degree of image manipulation vis-a-vis the original. These prints are not to be confused with photomechanical, offset reproductions which are marketed overseas and in India as art posters,” Mr Lavesh Jagasia, director of The Serigraph Studio, told ET.

“We chose to go for the serigraph medium because it extends far greater latitude, amongst the prints media, in terms of the colour spectrum. The visual engagement is almost on par with an original painting, for instance,” Mr Jagasia said.

As things stand, the studio has thrashed out a strategy to turn out 125 serigraphs of each work by an artist. All the prints are signed, numbered and titled by the artist. This naturally adds value to the serigraphs. Till now, around 5,000 serigraphs of 35-40 original works have been “published” by the studio. The prints encompass creations by S.H. Raza, Paritosh Sen, Lalu Prasad Shaw, Jogen Chowdhury and Ganesh Haloi.

To create an “effective” platform to showcase these serigraphs to buyers and collectors, the studio has planned to exhibit them at leading galleries in India and abroad. They can also source it from The Serigraph Studio website. Each print is being initially priced at Rs 10,000-12,000. “The price moves up as an edition gets sold out. This provides an avenue for appreciation in the value of the prints. The website also has a forum for interaction among collectors and trade in the serigraphs.

A visitor walks past a portrait of scientist Albert Einstein at an exhibition in Shanghai. This year is the 100th anniversary of Einstein's ‘miracle year', when the then unknown clerk at the Swiss Patent Office published five papers, including one on the special theory of relativity. —AFP