GOA GETS A NEW ART GALLERY, COURTESY PORTUGUESE CONSULATE

PANJIM, Feb 19: Goa got a new art gallery when the Portuguese
Consulate on Saturday launched its new permanent exhibition
centre named after famous Portuguese artist Jose de Guimaraes.

Some seventeen artists -- largely from Goa, and a few from
Portugal too -- had their works exhibited in the first show that
was unveiled by Lisbon's minister of state for external affairs
engineer Jose Lello.

Said Portugal's consul-general in Goa Vera Maria Fernandes: "I
hope that the Jose de Guimaraes Art Gallery will further
contribute to the promotion of the visual arts in Goa, and
encourage interaction between Indian and Portuguese artists".

Some 23 works of various artists went up on display at the first
exhibition, and some of them were priced for sale at prices
ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 35,000.

Prominent names who took part were cartoonist and illustrator
Mario Miranda, whose works A Village Scene and Untitled were
however not for sale.

Other art works in the not-for-sale category were by the
Portuguese painters Jose de Guimaraes and Carolina Reis.

Other prominent artists included cartoonist-doctor Subodh Kerkar
and his sister who specialises in portraits Harshada Kerkar.

Other artists were also exhibited in the exhibition which
continues daily till February 25 at the consulate premises at the
Pato quarters of Panjim.

Artists whose work was displayed were Sadguru Chendvankar,
Rajashree Thakkar, Suhash Shilkar, Francis D'Souza, Sadguru
Chendvankar, Harsha Mandurkar, Kirtikumar Prabhu, Rajesh
Chodankar, Nirupa Naik, Mohan Naik, and Kirtikumar Prabhu.

Portuguese consul general in Goa Ms Fernandes said that though
painting may be an "individual and enigmatic language", it still
has the capacity to "express values and feelings in a universal
and comprehensive way without any barriers of nationality,
language, religion or culture".

Frederick Noronha