Each art work is a snapshot of a larger story. Every piece of art is nothing but a fossil left behind from a much larger story. As a seasoned art curator, art writer, photographer, and a creative art entrepreneur, my job is to narrate that larger story.
Namaste!
My name is Chaitya Dhanvi Shah and I am the curator and managing director of DRS Arts Company.
KNOW ME BETTER
I am a father, son, husband, and a movie enthusiast too. I am full of energy and passion, but never full of myself.
I believe that extraordinary achievement is nothing but the combined consequence of early exposure, family nurturance, exceptional instruction, constant practice, and one’s intense will to learn. That’s why I take pride in joining and elevating my father Dhanvi Shah’s vision and legacy of art business to the position it holds today.
For me, art business is not only about buying and selling. Balance sheet is a thing of past. In the end what matters to me as a company’s managing director is what my company has created for the society and how satisfied are our clients. What progress has the artist made by being associated with us and what work have we created for the generations to come.
I made my debut glamorously entrepreneurial at the raw age of 20 by single-handedly curating ‘The Marvelous Show,’ exhibiting the works of master artists and contemporary artists of India at the Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 2007. That marked me as one of the youngest curators of the country.
WHY AM I A CURATOR
However, today, after spending so many years in the business, I still feel exactly what I used to feel at the age of 18 – the motto of my being into art business now and forever will be to ‘create’ – create value for collectors, create opportunity for artists, create content for the society, create art that lasts forever and create satisfaction for myself.
I’m ambitious and passionate about everything creative (specially the process than the end result) – that supports the ‘art ecosystem.’
To create something – Curator + creator = CURAT (E) OR is all I thrive for. I personally don’t feel money can ever provide me the satisfaction I feel by creating anything.
Nothing gives me more pleasure than to create something – be it a small write-up, a logo, a discussion with the artist, photography, conceiving a concept, writing a book, designing, blogging, creating a podcast, ideating a strategy, or branding for an artist or his work.
And hence I enjoyed receiving every practical art skill from my father. So far I have also been fortunate to have spent my youth in various artists’ studios and getting countless opportunities to discuss art in depth with each of them and get rewarded with first-hand artists’ experiences.
EXPLORING THE UNEXPLORED ART
I get a buzz out of sharing art knowledge by shifting mental pictures and giving people new tools for interpreting art. I fancy experimenting and writing about the works of several artists and in the process photographing and getting detailed interviews out of the artists.
I also believe there is a lot of undiscovered art, waiting to be unexplored. And thus, though my base is Ahmedabad, I travel frequently across the globe to explore art. I love travelling to cities with the artists I work with, to document the artists’ thoughts and interpret his art in forms of photographs and books. I get a thrill out of researching on ancient forms of art, be it Jainism or Greek form of art.
I love to combine diverse fields with art: art and theatre, art and performance, art and design, art and science, art and fashion, art and movies, so on and so forth. I want to stop people isolating ‘art’ from the rest of the things in the world. My periodical blogs and podcasts on art thus appeal for a sense of human awareness and spiritual consciousness related to art.
MY MOTTO
The most significant thing for me to look in a work of art is quality. I love the entire process – of being immersed in the hard work of every artist I work with, of appreciating their skills, passion and perseverance while my mind works on curating the few art works I choose out of his collection. When I emerge from that process, I am sure that the outcome is going to be a delightful experience for the viewers and buyers, because the scope of the work I curate, is diverse and eclectic, and the collections I curate to showcase feel as if they are amplified by being together.
Make, find and sell masterpiece art! Don’t ever lose your focus in the process. That’s always been my motto.
MY INVITATION TO YOU
Art opens everything up to such a bigger spectrum of people. And this is why I personally believe art is powerful and change the society. With the same goal I have held a range of charity shows with our artists and associates: for cancer patients and deaf/blind children, for public grievances, and even for promoting Indian heritage.
Here I open up the floor to you and ask: how can art make a difference to people’s lives and society? I invite you to share your stories and ideas with me. Email me and tell me how art made a difference in your life, and let’s serve the art ecosystem together!
Namaste!
My name is Chaitya Dhanvi Shah and I am the curator and managing director of DRS Arts Company.
Each art work is a snapshot of a larger story. Every piece of art is nothing but a fossil left behind from a much larger story. As a seasoned art curator, art writer, photographer, and a creative art entrepreneur, my job is to narrate that larger story.
KNOW ME BETTER
I am a father, son, husband, and a movie enthusiast too. I am full of energy and passion, but never full of myself.
I believe that extraordinary achievement is nothing but the combined consequence of early exposure, family nurturance, exceptional instruction, constant practice, and one’s intense will to learn. That’s why I take pride in joining and elevating my father Dhanvi Shah’s vision and legacy of art business to the position it holds today.
For me, art business is not only about buying and selling. Balance sheet is a thing of past. In the end what matters to me as a company’s managing director is what my company has created for the society and how satisfied are our clients. What progress has the artist made by being associated with us and what work have we created for the generations to come.
I made my debut glamorously entrepreneurial at the raw age of 20 by single-handedly curating ‘The Marvelous Show,’ exhibiting the works of master artists and contemporary artists of India at the Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 2007. That marked me as one of the youngest curators of the country.
WHY AM I A CURATOR
However, today, after spending so many years in the business, I still feel exactly what I used to feel at the age of 18 – the motto of my being into art business now and forever will be to ‘create’ – create value for collectors, create opportunity for artists, create content for the society, create art that lasts forever and create satisfaction for myself.
I’m ambitious and passionate about everything creative (specially the process than the end result) – that supports the ‘art ecosystem.’
To create something – Curator + creator = CURAT (E) OR is all I thrive for. I personally don’t feel money can ever provide me the satisfaction I feel by creating anything.
Nothing gives me more pleasure than to create something – be it a small write-up, a logo, a discussion with the artist, photography, conceiving a concept, writing a book, designing, blogging, creating a podcast, ideating a strategy, or branding for an artist or his work.
And hence I enjoyed receiving every practical art skill from my father. So far I have also been fortunate to have spent my youth in various artists’ studios and getting countless opportunities to discuss art in depth with each of them and get rewarded with first-hand artists’ experiences.
EXPLORING THE UNEXPLORED ART
However, today, after spending so many years in the business, I still feel exactly what I used to feel at the age of 18 – the motto of my being into art business now and forever will be to ‘create’ – create value for collectors, create opportunity for artists, create content for the society, create art that lasts forever and create satisfaction for myself.
I’m ambitious and passionate about everything creative (specially the process than the end result) – that supports the ‘art ecosystem.’
To create something – Curator + creator = CURAT (E) OR is all I thrive for. I personally don’t feel money can ever provide me the satisfaction I feel by creating anything.
Nothing gives me more pleasure than to create something – be it a small write-up, a logo, a discussion with the artist, photography, conceiving a concept, writing a book, designing, blogging, creating a podcast, ideating a strategy, or branding for an artist or his work.
And hence I enjoyed receiving every practical art skill from my father. So far I have also been fortunate to have spent my youth in various artists’ studios and getting countless opportunities to discuss art in depth with each of them and get rewarded with first-hand artists’ experiences.
MY MOTTO
The most significant thing for me to look in a work of art is quality. I love the entire process – of being immersed in the hard work of every artist I work with, of appreciating their skills, passion and perseverance while my mind works on curating the few art works I choose out of his collection. When I emerge from that process, I am sure that the outcome is going to be a delightful experience for the viewers and buyers, because the scope of the work I curate, is diverse and eclectic, and the collections I curate to showcase feel as if they are amplified by being together.
Make, find and sell masterpiece art! Don’t ever lose your focus in the process. That’s always been my motto.
MY INVITATION TO YOU
Art opens everything up to such a bigger spectrum of people. And this is why I personally believe art is powerful and change the society. With the same goal I have held a range of charity shows with our artists and associates: for cancer patients and deaf/blind children, for public grievances, and even for promoting Indian heritage.
Here I open up the floor to you and ask: how can art make a difference to people’s lives and society? I invite you to share your stories and ideas with me. Email me and tell me how art made a difference in your life, and let’s serve the art ecosystem together!
