Displaying a commendable ability to create images through reflections of his constructions, Arzan Khambatta strikes a balance between the playful and the profound. And therein lies his genius.

The art world has been buzzing with innovative ideas and Maria Louis zooms in on the variegated offerings

VERVE CLOSE-UP

Milburn Cherian - Jehangir Art Gallery

Arzan Khambatta - Jehangir Art Gallery

Arzan Khambatta's quirky sculptures - peppered with a sprinkling of sexual innuendoes - take a new look at our every day world. 'Re-fresh-ingly' different from his last exhibition - where the sculptor who gained repute from his quixotic 'scraptures' (sculptures made from scrap metal), suddenly turned turtle and looked gauche in the avatar of a serious artist - his latest showing revealed him at his wittiest best. The well-conceived and excellently executed pieces succeeded in bringing a smile to the most serious faces. Consider Laptop Model (a woman sitting on her boss' lap), Pamela And-her-son (a busty woman sunbathing while her kid plays in the sand) or Expose Yourself To Art (a 3-D version of the Punch cartoon showing a man shedding his coat to expose his unclad body in front of a nude sculpture). But clever titles, offbeat images and mischievous ribaldry are not all there is to the work of this idiosyncratic artist. Displaying a commendable ability to create images through reflections of his constructions - as in Yin Yang and Stairway To Heaven - he strikes a balance between the playful and the profound. And therein lies his genius. Sadly, there is a danger that the hype surrounding the Humble Bee - his take-off on Amitabh Bachchan - may obliterate it from view.

VERVE VANTAGE VIEW

S(cent) Of An Artist

This year marks the birth centenary of Salvador Dali…and Mumbai was privy to Dali's Secrets, a selection of reproductions that illustrate the variety of the surrealist genius' art - be it paintings, photography, sculptures, ballet costumes or jewellery - when Ruby Lips by Les Parfums Salvador Dali was launched at Olive with great fanfare. Ruby Lips was the legendary brooch he created out of rubies and pearls on 24-carat gold in 1941. Inspired by the lips of Greek goddess, Aphrodite, his interpretation of the poetic cliché "lips like rubies and teeth like pearls" is eternally feminine, sensual and provocative - qualities that can be seen in his paintings - like Apparition Of Aphrodite and Woman With The Head Of Rose.

Across The Border

Mumbai was recently treated to the Bangladesh Art Exhibition at the Museum Art Gallery. Among the 100 odd works of art by eminent and internationally acclaimed artists from Bangladesh, some gems on view were the works of Kanak Champa Chakma, whose vibrant paintings showcased events from the colourful daily life of the Chittagong hill tribes; Khalid Mahmood Mithu, a consummate artist, scriptwriter, cameraman and film director, who projected life in the hills with all its beauty and grace; Shahnaz Kuhu, whose nudes were at once perceptive and revealing; and Iffat Ara Dewan, whose chalk pastels and charcoals of still life displayed an astonishing sensitivity to colour and light. While the contemporary Indian art scene is more exciting in comparison, it was an interesting glimpse into the creative and social concerns that preoccupy our neighbours.