Art Resort

Artists in Goa are lucky to find the Art Resort in Palolem willingly bear the mantle of supporting and encouraging art-makers. The gorgeous little beach resort boasts of prettily appointed huts set back from the beach, each with their own private sit-out, as well as a fully equipped bar and restaurant bang on the southern end of the beach in Palolem. Who would have thought however that the resort’s main attraction would become their gallery space! The gallery is not large but over the last few years and, particularly this season, has grown to become extremely popular as a venue that boasts a busy roster of interesting art shows. The space is used by artists to host shows free of cost without paying exorbitant gallery charges or commissions. Exhibiting artists also get an internet platform to show their work along with free opening nights, advertising support and contacts to international galleries.

The Art Resort is run by the engaging Austrian couple Valerie and Horst Springer along with their partner Bhuwan who take no profits from the artists and run the gallery purely for their love of the arts.

“We felt an urge to offer young artists a platform to showcase their work,” says Horst. And despite being on the beach on the southernmost tip of Goa, the gallery does extremely well, affirming the owners’ belief that art needs to be taken out of the conventional gallery space and reach out to a wider audience. In its fourth year now and only growing stronger, so far the Art Resort is certainly living up to its promise of bringing an interesting and exciting selection of art shows to Goa’s shores.

Recent Major Shows at Art Resort

The Mini-Print Show 2014

Goa was actually the first place in all of Asia to possess the first printing press at the Jesuit Saint Paul’s College in Old Goa in the year 1556. Taking its impetus from this fact was a charming show of Mini-Prints organized by renowned artists Rajendra Usapkar and Ryan Abreu. 61 artists showed works in the mini-print format across genres including etchings, lithographs, engravings, woodcuts and photography. Ajay Dhapa, Pradeep Naik, Sajar Sarkar, Neha Pathak, Suguresh Sultanpur and more showed their intriguing works alongside those by senior artists Jyoti Bhatt, Laxman Bhatt, PD Dhumal, Debraj Goswami and others. Working in a maximum frame size of 8 x 8 inches, the works were intimate and concentrated and available at extremely affordable prices which are probably why the entire show was sold on opening night! The prestigious works of the senior artists were for the purpose of exhibition alone and not meant for sale but to purely enhance the calibre of the show.

Maharajas By Sara Khalafi

Award-winning Iranian artist Sara Khalafi held her first solo exhibition in India at the Art Resort. The theme of her widely appreciated exhibition was ‘Maharajas’. Sara took a closer look at the enduring iconic image of India that occupies popular imaginations worldwide, including in Iran. Her moving portraits were evocative of a time and lifestyle gone by.