The Art Scene

For the new kid on the block, it certainly has pedigree. The Centre for Con-temporary Art, housed within Delhi’s Bikaner House complex, finally opened its portals to welcome art aficionados during this year’s edition of the India Art Fair. Nature Morte was invited to stage the centre’s much-awaited inaugural show, an opportunity the gallery found too irresistible to pass up. The ambitious exhibition it mounted, The Idea of the Acrobat, occupied both floors of the recently renovated building and brought together the works of a dozen well known artists in a multitude of media. The line-up included Bharti Kher, Atul Dodiya, Dayanita Singh, Shilpa Gupta, Ayesha Singh, Khyentse Norbu and LN Tallur to name but a few.

- Meera Menezes

Erstwhile palace turned government office, Delhi’s Bikaner House is now a chic gallery

Located in the heart of Delhi and along the India Gate hexagon, Bikaner House is one of the many stately residences that were constructed as royal homes for the rulers of the erstwhile princely states. Several of these, including Bikaner, Baroda and Patiala House were later repurposed to accommodate government offices or law courts. Constructed in 1932, the palace is said to have been designed by Edwin Lutyens and built by CG Blomfield. Tastefully restored by Mumbai-based conservationist Abha Narain Lambah, it has since become a much-sought-after venue to stage shows for art, craft, design or host book releases and musical soirees.