Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru
With Inputs from Media Release

Mangaluru, Jul 5: The new premises of 'Gallerie Orchid', formerly known as 'Orchid Art Gallery' was inaugurated at KS Rao Road here on Sunday July 4. Architect Christopher Noronha unveiled the new logo.

Rahul D'Silva, creative writer raised the toast of the evening while Dr Michael Lobo, well-known writer spoke on the occasion.

Art aficionados of the city were present on the occasion. William Pais, proprietor, outlined the objectives of the gallery.

Gallerie Orchid – A new way to art world

Ever since Orchid Art Gallery, now rechristened 'Gallerie Orchid', took toddler steps, art awareness and the need to possess a work of art has grown in Mangaluru and around.

Focusing on being a space for promoting art it has logged in 52-curated exhibitions of the established and emerging artists. Spearheading the movement to promote art, the parameters of promoting art were enhanced to the national level, a fact evident in the landmark exhibitions. The efforts to reach out to international and national audience gave us the desired results, enabling homebred talents to reach onto wider arena.

"To the coastal city of Mangalue which is in the forefront of education, business, banking and industry putting up a state-of-the-art space for art was timely and apt. It has taken years to get to know the pulse of the people as to how they are inclined towards a piece of art and proudly display it in their homes. Some were already into collecting and a few were initiated into collecting. Though their number is minimum it is true that they have driven the art transactions, saw the gallery through and there was something visible on the horizon," said William Pais.

"Art buisness by its very nature of exclusive patronage may sometimes defy the factors to make it necessarily profitable. But to admit honestly, the cause of art promotion far surpasses the profit motive. The art patrons who supported such a venture are therefore stakeholders in the process, I need to say as matter of grateful acknowledgement," he added.

"The role of the gallery is to be a catalyst between the artist and the patron and help the patron to make an informed choice of artwork. The artwork by the artist is to be placed in a manner that can be appreciated by the discerning buyer. Gallerie Orchid has successfully donned this role and launched many an artist to the art world and led them to sure path of sucess. The buyer on the otherhand was given consultation to chose work of art that would befit his taste and understanding," Pais said.

Featured in the inaugural exhibition is a mix of nationally known masters starting from M F Hussein who spearheaded India’s march into modernism, to B Prabha, Philip D Mello, Anil Bihari, Sashikanth Bane, Nemiraj Shetty, Ramesh Rao and Sudesh Mahan. Promising names include Jeevan AS, Wilson Souza, Anil Devadiga, Devi Prasad Rao, Rajkumar Sthabathi and a few other newcomers too, who attempt to carve their space into the gallery.

Said William Pais, "A vibrant art loving community is a healthy community and presence of an art gallery speaks volumes about a city’s cultural ethos. In my offering of this art space to the city of Mangaluru, I also put forward an appeal that art needs to be nourished and encouraged. A carefully selected artwork is a treasure that surpasses generations, an indelible record of the vibrancy in which it is produced and brings perpetual value to its owner and surroundings. An artwork elevates us internally and helps us to step up to its desired purpose. This stepped up feeling is priceless and will remain embedded forever.

"Exhibitions we held in the past few years have spoken openly about the artistic dialogue and its imperative. I am compelled to borrow from the lines of the toast raised by Giselle Mehta, an eminent writer on the occasion of Gallerie Orchid’s 50th show, 'Owning a fancy car is still related to its utility, while a painting proclaims the fine instincts of a cultured connoisseur'. Perhaps a work of art stands better chance of value than a piece of automobile. I desire in the earnest that the new art space be the trigger to enter into the world of finer living, help in the creation of aesthic spaces that leads us into finding newer puspose of life everytime we experience an artwork," William Pais said.