With social and physical interactions touching the lowest ebb during the pandemic, young movers and shakers of the art world kept things going by quickly switching over to online platforms, reaching a discerning audience with innovative ideas and artwork. Somak Mitra, the young scion of Art Exposure Gallery was among the handful of gallery owners in the city to swiftly shift to the digital platforms to keep things afloat. “We initially switched to online platforms, but now, with the vaccine drive in place, offline shows are picking up pace once more,” tells Somak who very recently brought to town an eclectic display of sculpture by celebrated artist Paresh Maity.
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Mitra admits that the audience in the art world did shy away from physical exhibitions under strained situations but overall the adaptability has been quite interesting for him to observe considering the way digital invasion has affected the functioning of the art world. “And one great thing about the same is that it has increased reach manifold in terms of reaching any artist’s work to a wider gamut of the audience,” adds Mitra.
Mitra also adds that digitization has also brought under its fold a great number of people who were not traditionally into art but suddenly started watching art on digital platforms and talking about the same. “Art Exposure has actually benefited from the changed scenario with more active responses from buyers that turned into sales. And that makes us extremely optimistic about the digital market,” states the young art entrepreneur, who is also careful to add that the physical exhibitions will never lose their charm and are here to stay and will co-exist and complement each other.
Known for its unique exhibitions, the four-year-old gallery has already had a physical exhibition here in Kolkata and another one is taking place in December in Delhi which might be brought over to Kolkata in early January next year. Also, they will be participating India Art Fair in February next year.
Digitisation has also made NFT the buzzword these days in the art world with blockchain technology permeating our lives, but Mitra is a tad sceptical about the same. “It allows people to seek authenticity through data stored in digital images, but the traditional way of authenticity is still valued and it still matters. Personally, perhaps I would prefer the old way of authentication. But yes with new buyers on the block if the gallery revenue picks thanks to the new-age clients who swear by blockchain and crypto and digital certification, then that’s a good thing, he adds.