‘Blowing of cold winds and rustling of trees, the year’s closing with numerous promising developments’. Is having an eye for art an old fashioned trend? The highlights of the year 2015 show that the year has been a paragon of experimentation.

ArtDeal Auction house began its journey this past January and with exclusivity and novelty has swiftly made a hallmark in the art world by three successful live auctions and is now advancing into online auctions. Art & Deal Magazine, the only monthly art magazine in India is batting on a fast pitch and is proceeding towards a triumphant century. Also the only art magazine to have come close to achieving a hundred issues, in the coming year as also eighteen years of publication.

‘Let there be one canvas, diverse mediums melded with divergent thoughts’. ‘Let the powerful statements splashed through art on the walls, create resplendent vocalised imageries’, ‘Let the human mind perceive and decipher the language of the wall’, Street art is in focus this time, ‘art for the people in the public spaces’ addresses a large number of mass, embraces social issues and mostly evolves from an individual’s struggle of existence.

In India the graffiti boom happened in 1960s-70s, and the graphic art or ‘art for the people’ was widely taken up in Kolkata by the CPI patron, Chittaprosad Bhattacharya. He drew the ‘deadly manmade famine that killed millions ‘and contemplated the misery. In the 1980s & 90s, the street art gained popularity worldwide, and the art was taken out to the open & was no more confined to the formal art world. It soon became an important interlocutor between the artists and public.

Art & Deal in this issue brings forth the upcoming trends in public art called ‘Street Art’ and raises an issue, whether Street art is a social relief, an unthinkable gesture or art-vandalism. The cover story by H A Anil Kumar,‘A Satirical demand for time-bound Graffiti and Street Art: Art on Public Walls and Streets in Bengaluru’ throws light on the initiatives taken by the City Corporation, Bengaluru to scratch out the visual pollutants and beautify the city with meaningful wall paintings. Apurva Sinha illuminated the concept of street art, its mechanics with a glimpse of the street art around her vicinity.

Aastha Duggal brought up the Indian notion for the street art and claimed, ‘Today’s Indian street art takes on the same mission with its inclination towards social commentary; from matters of civic welfare to implications of political conditions’. Street art in the global scenario has attained a much acclaimed position and our Art & Deal correspondent highlighted Paris’ commentary on street art through extravagant wall paintings. Uma Nair, unraveled the artistic pursuits of Surendran Nair through her diagnostic views on ‘Interior Monologue’, presented by Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai. She has also exfoliated the art practice of Kerala artist Kesari.

His canvasses draw attention towards human bond and changing aspects of everyday life. Apurva Sinha traced the journey of Bhimbetka from being a pre-historic habitation to a World Heritage Monument. Aparna Roy Baliga, through her essay on ‘Of fibre deities and many voiced design: Mrinalini Mukherjee’, irradiated the artistic finesse of Mrinalini Mukherjee her practice of making the sculptural monumental pieces.

Dr Nuzat Kazmi, elaborated the genre of Josh P.S, his stylistic advent with art and his masterpieces textured with flavours from history. Well, ‘The Street is our gallery’, exclaimed by the authors of street art; catch on some of the street art festivals happening around the world, and witness the liberated form of ‘Art’. The upcoming talk of the town is the Art Fair, 2016 and Delhi is gleaming with high spirits and things to come…

Happy New Year!

Siddhartha Tagore