Whimsical and whacky, the mural is signed by a tribal artist from Rajasthan who has scribbled the year 1997 at the bottom. The front door is flanked by a mosaic of bronze dwaarapalikas (figures who guard the front entrance) on the wall. Within, wherever the eyes rest, there is a painting or a mural in super-bright colours. Even in the four bathrooms and what once used to be the kitchen. Gallery 545 takes its name from its door number in a tony area of Indiranagar, and used to be the residence of the late May Kottukapally Demann.
Visitors to the gallery do not express surprise when they see art in the space. After all, the space has known art since it was built. Sonali Singh and Deepika Mogilishetty, founders of Gallery 545 say that it is in fact, a “great honour” to be allowed to run their gallery from the precincts of Demann’s home.
The Grand Doyen
Hailing from a well-known old Kerala family, May Kottukapally Demann grew up in England and Germany and married a German, Harald Demann. A passion for art led her to travel across Europe and she became a prolific collector. When she returned to India, Demann became the secretary and member of INTACH.
Her daughter, Sonja Demann, says living without art was unimaginable for her mother. “She really had an eye for beautiful art,” she says. In fact, different styles of Indian art from different Indian states lived happily within one room.
There was not a single free space left on her house walls, both inside and outside. “But it all seemed to fit just right,” says Sonja, “as if they belonged together — the angle, the colour scheme, the workmanship. To me, her house was like a museum of all Indian art.”
Museum before gallery
Demann had a large collection of modern Indian art from artists such as Husain, Sunil Das, Jamini Roy, Brendres, Adimoolam, Alphonso, Vasudev, JMS Mani, Peter Lewis and others. “My mother knew nearly every artist who came to Bangalore,” Sonja says. A variety of bronze figures were distributed all over the 2,300 sq ft house. When Singh and Mogalishetty wanted to start their own art initiative, they had seen several spaces before hearing of Demann’s residence. “When we saw the stone sculptures from Orissa outside we were stumped. We knew we had found the right space,” says Singh. But it meant a lot of responsibility as well which is why most of the works have been removed by Sonja after the gallerists requested her to do so.
The walls however remain emblazoned by mural, folk and tribal art. There are also colourful Madhubani paintings and Gond tribal art. Sonja says, “Gond art is an expression of the belief: Viewing a good image begets good luck.” There are also Pithora paintings from Gujarat. In fact May Kottukapally Demann had no domestic help because she enjoyed taking care of the artworks herself. And the value of the art in her residence led her to screen visitors to her house and also the gardener.
Art lover
“In those days, artists felt honoured to be invited to paint at her residence,” Singh says. An artist once told Sonja “here lives someone who really understands art and us….you can feel the passion….your mother is like one of us.” And that is why she was frequently called to inaugurate both traditional and modern art exhibitions.
In her last days, May Kottukapally Demann was hospitalised. Sonja Demann plastered every inch of the hospital room with family photos and paintings by her daughter Leticia. “I wanted to keep her surroundings colourful to motivate her in her fight against cancer. At times, despite her pain, we would leave the hospital to go for art exhibitions. Her eyes would light up.”
After she passed away in 2011, some artists suggested Sonja convert her mother’s house into an art museum. “But I am happy that her house is being used for art. Her spirit and passion for art will always stay connected to 545.”
source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Entertainment> Lounge / by Jayanthi Madhukar, Bangalore Mirror Bureau / July 10th, 2014