The iconic Gallery Chemould started by Kekoo and Khorshed Gandhy in 1963 and located in the Jehangir Art Gallery for decades before moving to Prescott Road now has a new extension, Chemould/SHIFT (CS) on Ormiston Road, behind the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. Housed on the second floor of a century-old building, visitors are greeted with stained glass panels over large doors that let in the sun; the wood raftered ceiling and patterned cement tiles add to the pleasant ambience.
Clockwise from top l: Views of Chemould/SHIFT;
Atyaan Jungalwala; Sunaina Rajan;
Vinita Mungi’s "Eccentric Structure;" Mungi
"We are not a (traditional) gallery, per se,” Atyaan Jungalwala, told Parsiana on April 18. "Unlike stationary galleries defined by their permanent architecture… SHIFT will roam from place to place as a travelling contemporary platform… Our programs will center around collaborations between art and other creative forms… The space intends to showcase new and exciting work by emerging artists and varied media,” notes their website. CS opened with a show on March 10, 2022 displaying around 20 works by sculptor and ceramicist Vinita Mungi, titled "Eccentric Structures/Intimate Worlds.” In May and June, the gallery will host a residential program for two emerging artists, sculptor Gurjeet Singh and painter Rithika Panday.
The flexibility of showing art in various media is reflected in their name, said Jungalwala. She is the 28-year-old daughter of Shireen Gandhy, who heads Chemould. "We will be looking to showcase younger artists,” said the third generation gallerist who graduated in interior design from the School of Design and Innovation. Her business partner is 24-year-old Sunaina Rajan who has also worked with Chemould and studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
"To bring in newer artists to the main gallery on Prescott Road would not work,” Jungalwala stated. "There we will continue to show established artists…Price points for newer artists are different…They require a different kind of mentoring.”
CS will "present exhibitions and programs that push the boundaries of contemporary art today, foster experimentation in the arts, and be a platform for innovative projects to find their home beyond traditional white cube galleries,” their write-up notes. F. J.