Nand Katyal recalls the time when Silpi Chakra witnessed strong companionships, long discussions, an atmosphere where creative spirit could breathe, when quality was not governed by price tags, and a space conducive for personal growth.
In the 50s Silpi Chakra enjoyed the presence of the Crème de la crème of Delhi artists. We were third/fourth year college students at the time and I remember we used to go to Freemasons’ Hall to see exhibits. We were in awe of the beautiful snowscapes of Kanwal Krishna, works of Satish Gujral etc.
Later in the 60s when Dinkar Kowshik asked me to join Delhi Silpi Chakra I had already booked the gallery for my show. The founder members had already left and Dinkar Kowshik and Jaya Appaswamy were taking care of the group and its activities at that time. I had a job and a studio here at Triveni Kala Sangam but I chose to join the group too. My first solo exhibition was with Delhi Silpi Chakra in 1962. I was also the founder member of the Unknown. Unknown was a group of artists in 60s with all the young graduates coming together and showcasing their works.
When I was made the secretary, my job was to get all the artists into the chakra and let the dialogue of sharing flow. With me many artists, for instance Arpita, Paramjeet, Suraj Dhawan, Swaminathan and Ambadas also became members. We always felt that regular discussions were
very helpful and important for our growth. We used to sit and discuss the techniques of handling paint, talk about Western and Indian artists, review the reviews analysing how the critics had written; Richard Bartholomew was the critic at that time. We would read the catalogue and discuss Silpi Chakra group exhibitions. We, the artists, at that time were happy with our art and were not governed by commercial incentives. In 1967 American Museum of Modern Art came with a huge show of their masters like Motherwell & Rothko etc. and along came the critic Clement Greenberg. I saw this as a great opportunity and asked the non members too to collaborate and put up works with Silpi Chakra. The show received active participation and appreciation from director Waldo Rasmussen. It became a great event. Seminars on art and its intricacies were conducted and the atmosphere was quite charged.
