KT Kala exhibition captivates visitors with immersive art works

The second edition of the annual KT Punjab State Art exhibition opened at KT Kala art gallery here on Friday in the presence of 36 artists.

Aimed at promoting and encouraging artists from Punjab, entries were invited from amateur as well as professional artists in six categories of art – painting, sculpture, graphics, digital art, photography and drawing. The panel of judges, which included senior artists Sumeet Dua, Vineet Bihari and Rakesh Kumar, from Jammu University, shortlisted 140 works from a total of 530 entries.

Opening the exhibition, Ram Pal Chatrath, a senior academician and patron of art, said that such platforms encourage new talent while providing visibility to the new works by established artists.

“Events like this offer new perspectives, take art to more people and develop a culturally and artistically conscious society,” he said.

Meanwhile, Brajesh Jolly, a senior art critic and director of KT Kala, said cash awards were also given to artists in the senior and amateur categories to support their art forms.

“We gave away 10 prizes of Rs 10,000 each in senior category and five prizes of Rs 5,000 each in amateur category to support artists, especially the younger ones. The vibrant art landscape in Punjab now needs a push towards contemporary, immersive works and for that, the artists need commercial as well as institutional support,” said Jolly.

Although art works from various genre were displayed during the exhibition, paintings dominated the event. Moving away from traditional landscape and portraits, the paintings had diverse theme like spirituality, Technology and AI world, dystopian themes and some cultural portraits of Punjab.

The exhibition also showcased ad graphics, prints and posters, with refreshing take on modern abstract themes in the digital art category.

The exhibition is open for public till December 7.