We went on Sunday afternoon. Surprisingly it there were hardly any crowd. Costed ₹20 per (Indian) person. They are a bit strict about photography but in a weird fashion. Its okay to take any number of photos of the artwork and installations but we are not allowed to click personal pictures (Basically can’t have ourselves in that frame). Putting one star less because of that. There are guards standing in every corner and everyone is being watched. Fair enough. Otherwise the experience was great. Loved the ambiance.
The ambience of the gallery is fantastic. There is almost no noise in the surroundings thereby making the experience very serene.
The first thing that comes to mind is the display. I visited during the Chiselled exhibition which was based on several sculptures done by female artists.
The display of those sculptures were fantastic. The lighting, the sense of negative space to perfectly experience the sculpture were immaculate.
Apart from that, in the other wing, several paintings were displayed which I believe is always ongoing and not a special exhibition. There were paintings from the Bengal School of Art which is one of my favorite art movements. Modern artworks were the majority as is the name. Some of the artworks were huge and aptly displayed allowing you to view them at your own pace.
There is an affordable shop near the entrance where you can buy prints. There is also a nice simple cafe. There is an auditorium where events are held now and then.
Now for some drawbacks. Firstly, the display being as fantastic as it is, the captions which included the artwork details and the artists' names were very small and most of them were very difficult to find in the lowly lit spaces. I counted at least 3-4 artworks which didn't have any captions so we were unable to know anything about the artist's names. This was a major negative point during the visit which I mentioned in the feedback book present near the entrance to the halls.
Secondly, there were no catalogues which we could refer to while viewing the ongoing exhibition as well as the regular exhibition of the modern art paintings. Therefore we could only note down the names of the artworks and artists, about whom we didn't know much, to search for them later on from the web.
The listening app is not very helpful as it doesn't have the specific artworks present in the actual exhibition gallery, thereby it is kind of useless in terms of this specific exhibition. The website also doesn't have any information catalogue for the exhibitions.
Things you can't do inside the gallery: No videos and selfies please! You may take photos of the artworks preferably without the use of a flash.
Please don't make a chaos inside as the ambience is very peaceful as is required to view and understand such pieces of art.
Overall it was a fantastic experience but the drawbacks kept us looking for more information about the excellent pieces of art we just viewed.
The National Art Gallery is a captivating haven for art enthusiasts. Housing a vast collection of masterpieces, the gallery offers a diverse range of artistic expressions from various eras and cultures. The curated exhibits are thoughtfully presented, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in the beauty and significance of each artwork. The gallery's architecture is awe-inspiring, complementing the artistic ambiance. A visit to the National Art Gallery is a must for anyone seeking inspiration and appreciation for the world of art.
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