19th Nov 2004

Saffronart launches art gallery in New York

An Indian venture launched five years ago to familiarise the world about ayurveda, Indian fashion and contemporary art, has opened an art gallery in New York ahead of its online winter auction of paintings.

Planet Saffron opened its New York gallery, Saffronart, Thursday in the Flatiron District of Manhattan and its online winter auction is to kick off Nov 30-Dec 2 with a preview of about 25 of its 145 paintings that are up for sale.

The 2004 winter auction offering includes pre-modern, modern, contemporary and emerging artists.

Planet Saffron India was launched by Dinesh and Minal Vazirani in 1999 to offer products and services from the Indian subcontinent to the rest of the world.

Planetsaffron is a lifestyle portal aimed to provide access to alternatives in the areas of holistic healing and ayurveda, Indian fashion and style, and Indian contemporary art, according to a company release.

A sister preview for the 2004 winter sale will be held at Saffronart's flagship gallery in Mumbai Nov 25 with a different selection of works.

The sale features works by several leading modernists, including F.N. Souza, S.H. Raza, M.F. Husain, Akbar Padamsee and Ram Kumar, as well as leading contemporary artists - like Shibu Natesan, Surendran Nair, G.R. Iranna and Baiju Parthan.

Of particular note in the sale are the rare early works by Ram Kumar, M.F. Husain's signature work in his depiction of horses from the 1960's as well as 'Bhishma on a Bed of Arrows' from his series on Mahabharata.

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