"I decided to found Asian Art Gallery with a mission to bring together Asian artists, art enthusiasts including novice collectors and art dealers to experience and explore a new found creative journey" says Santhana Krishnan about the new initiative he launched showcasing emerging artists from India. Krishnan has been in the Boston area for over 20 years. An entrepreneur at heart and an angel investor in several startups locally he currently work for a software company that acquired his startup.

 What is your vision behind Asian Art Gallery? What kind of art does it represent?

The vision is to be the platform for emerging artists and transform the way the future artists are identified through an ecosystem of artists, art enthusiasts and scholars. There is much debate if art is an asset class, just like the stock market it is all about timing.  Our platform will provide novice and experienced art collectors to get in early in the game and at the same time enjoy what they collect.

The advisory board behind the Asian Art Gallery will comprise of internationally acclaimed artists, eminent art scholars, art enthusiasts and several supporting social and commercial enterprises. Serving as an artist friendly talent manager, we are in the pursuit to identify, narrate and celebrate the stories of Asia through art, to a wider global audience.

 How did you get interested in art?

I grew up in South East Asia where my parents exposed me to different cultures, art and architecture. So at a very early age, I became intrigued and fascinated by the process of creation of art. I always knew at some point in my life that I will associate myself with the world of art.

Over the years, I found out that there is so much talent and art in Asia that does not get the exposure it deserves.  The focus of the art market has been on established artists and ancient art. The Asian art market is in its infancy when it comes to emerging art. Curators are just starting to explore the hidden talent in countries like India, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Cambodia.

So I decided to found Asian Art Gallery with a mission to bring together Asian artists, art enthusiasts including novice collectors and art dealers to experience and explore a newfound creative journey.

 How do you hope to realize this vision? Are you an artist yourself?

 There were 3 aspects to our vision – First, we wanted to create a platform that challenges the traditional models and introduces emerging artists through shows and online leveraging social media. We will also collaborate with scholars, curators and museums to select and promote these artists.

Second, we wanted to introduce art to new enthusiasts and educate them to become more knowledgeable and participate in the process of creating the next M.F. Husain, Amrita Sher-Gil, Tyeb Mehta, F. N. Souza.  I also feel that having the buyers meet the artists increases the appreciation and understanding of the artist and art, so we will constantly invite these artists to Boston and other cities.

Third, we also wanted to support social and economic change initiatives in South East Asia through the great work of organizations like American India Foundation, Ekal and UNICEF helping raise funds for initiatives through art auctions.

I am not an artist but admire the creative process behind every piece of art and understanding the mind of the artist.

 How many artists do you represent? And how many of them have come to you, and how many did you find yourself?

The Asian Art Gallery Fall 2013 show Ethnic Concurrence brings together a group of eleven like-minded Indian artists who believe in a better way to conserve what is left of India’s ethnicity.

The eleven artists include G. Subramanian, N. S. Manohar, Madan Lal, Basuki Dasgupta, S. Mark Rathinaraj, K. R. Santhana Krishnan, R. Rajkumar Sthabathy, B. Vengatesan, A. Vasudevan, A. P. Marskanna, B. Venkatesan.

The Asian Art Gallery team went through a very selective process and met with each artist to commission art for this show.  It was important to ensure that we chose the right artists who supported the theme for the show. More importantly we wanted to introduce artists who would have never had such an opportunity to be appreciated in the Western world.

You have also said that you will support local charities that work with India. Please share with us any recent events and the response?

Since we are focused on promoting artists from India and other Asian countries we wanted to support non-profit organizations that are driving social and economic changes. We plan to do so by conducting silent art auctions at fundraiser events.

We recently participated at the New England American India Foundation Gala where we had a successful silent art auction. AIF is the largest diaspora philanthropy organization focused on India. Since its inception in 2001, AIF has benefited more than 1.9 million people through its innovative programs and partnerships with Indian non-governmental organizations.

We are sponsoring an art competition by Ekal in January to support the largest grassroots non-government education movement in India operating in over 50,000 villages educating over 1.5 million children in rural India.

  Finally if readers are interested in this where can they see this art? Is there an upcoming event /exhibition

 The private inauguration event of the Asian Art Gallery is scheduled for December 7th.  We have the curator and artist Mark Rathinaraj at the event so that the visitors can interact.

The gallery is open to the public on December 8th from 10am-6pm. Those interested in visiting on December 8th can register online at http://asianartgallery.celebrations.com/Fall2013 and can see some of art displayed at http://www.asianartgallery.org    

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