Farooq Sheikh and Peenaz Masani at the inauguration of the fair. Picture by Amit Datta

The famous art fair of the mid-1960s in the park opposite the Calcutta Municipal Corporation headquarters, where Bikash Bhattacharjee, Ganesh Pyne and Suhas Roy were among the artists who exhibited their works and sold them for a song, has become a chrerished memory. Even college-going artists, who ask for the earth, would not deign to do so today.

Signature Art Fest ’08, held at Avani Signature opposite St Xavier’s College on Park Street between Friday and Sunday was a serious attempt at reviving the art fair in the air-conditioned comfort of the groundfloor and first floor of this highrise. The fair was opened on Thursday evening by Sunil Gangopadhyay in the presence of Lalit Kala Akademi chairman Ashok Vajpayee, actor Farooq Sheikh and singer Peenaz Masani.

Twenty-seven stalls were allotted to various art groups, art institutions and galleries, some from Mumbai and Delhi as well. A printmaking workshop was a big draw, and with a band playing in the evening, the fair did manage to attract crowds. With most galleries charging nominal prices sales were also encouraging.

A work by Krishnendu Chaki

When artists, who are best known for their illustrations, take up painting the effectiveness of their work often depends heavily on the power of lines. The current exhibition at Mon Art gallery featuring Prabir Sen, Krishnendu Chaki and Nilanjan Banerjee proves this point.

The youngest of them, Nilanjan Banerjee, is both poet and painter, and his works on canvas create cityscapes and faces that look stoned. These are depicted entirely by using straightforward lines. His colours are bright, occasionally with dabs of silver that gives them a posterish look.

Krishnendu Chaki is clearly inspired by Bengali folk tales for his figures resemble folk dolls. Fairies, winged men with flutes, magic castles and the sun keep recurring in his works. He uses colour sparingly for his lines tell a story of their own.

Prabir Sen’s works are monochromatic and his works are defined entirely by his undulating lines — often cross-stitch lines. He could be depicting human figures but the accent is always on the dense patchwork of linear patterns.