Kekoo Gandhy | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Kaikhushru Minochair Gandhy (1920-02-02)2 February 1920 |
| Died | 10 November 2012(2012-11-10) (aged 92) Mumbai,Maharashtra, India |
| Occupations | Gallerist, gallery chemould (established 1963),art collector and art connoisseur |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Rashna, Adil, Behroze, Shireen Gandhy |
| Awards | Padma Shri in 2008 |
| Website | gallerychemould |
Kekoo Gandhy (2 February 1920 – 10 November 2012) was an Indian artgallerist,art collector and art connoisseur, who pioneered the promotion ofIndian modern art from the 1940s. He established Chemould Frames, a frame manufacturing business in 1941, soon he started displaying works of young modern artistsK. H. Ara,S. H. Raza,K. K. Hebbar andM. F. Husain in his showroom windows.[1] This led to gradual rise of modern art movement and post-colonial art in India. Eventually Gallery Chemould, India's firstcommercial art gallery, was opened in 1963 on the first floor of theJehangir Art Gallery.[2][3]
He was awarded thePadma Shri byGovernment of India in 2008.[4]
Kaikhushru (Kekoo) Minocher Gandhy was born inBombay on 2 February 1920 to Minocher Gandhy and Roshan Gandhy (née Roshan Batliwalla).[5] Kekoo was educated at Bombay'sCathedral and John Connon School, from which he matriculated aged 17, gaining a place atPembroke College, Cambridge. But after spending summer 1939 in India, Kekoo Gandhy could not return to Cambridge due to the outbreak ofWorld War II. In 1940, Kekoo was appointed Honorary Secretary of theBombay Art Society, the first Indian to hold the position.[6]
In 1941, Kekoo and his brother Russy Gandhy set up the Chemical Moulding Manufacturing Company, later abbreviated to Chemould, to manufacture frames for paintings.[7][8] Kekoo displayedBombay Progressive Artists' Group paintings in Chemould's Bombay shop, which grew out of a godown on Princess Street; the Bombay Progressives made their first sales through this shop.[7] Gallery/shop managers included Roshan Kalapesi and poetNissim Ezekiel.[9]
Kekoo's knack for spotting promising young talent[10] led to exhibitions that helped establish the reputations ofMF Husain,Tyeb Mehta,Ram Kumar,SH Raza,Bhupen Khakhar,Nalini Malani,Atul Dodiya,Anju Dodiya,Jitish Kallat,Reena Saini Kallat,KH Ara, Bal Chhabda,Krishen Khanna,Jehangir Sabavala,Gaitonde,KK Hebbar,Vivan Sundaram, andJivya Soma Mashe.[7][11] Immediately after his successful first Husain exhibition, in 1951, Kekoo Gandhy collaborated with industrialist and collectorCowasji Jehangir and the nuclear scientistHomi Bhabha to establish theJehangir Art Gallery in Bombay, a first for modern art.[11][12] Kekoo establishedGallery Chemould in 1963 on the first floor of the Jehangir Art Gallery, holding exhibitions there until 2007, when it moved to its new premises on Prescott Road.[13]
Starting in the 1970s, Kekoo Gandhy was instrumental in developing the former Sir Cowasji Jehangir Public Hall in Bombay into the presentNational Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai.[14] At various times Kekoo also actively supported theLalit Kala Akademi (National Academy of Fine Arts) and Triennale India 1968.[12]
As part of his commitment to the social sphere, Kekoo Gandhy sheltered activists in his home during theIndian Emergency (26 June 1975 – 21 March 1977). And during the Hindu fundamentalistBombay riots (December 1992 – January 1993) he was active in themohalla (neighbourhood) committees that worked for inter-religious solidarity.[11] After working with him for a few years, in 1988, his daughter Shireen Gandhy took over the running of Gallery Chemould.[15] Shireen's child, Atyaan Jungalwala, and Sunaina Kewalramani established a new location in 2022 named Chemould CoLab.[16]
For his work in the Arts, Kekoo Gandhy was awarded thePadma Shri in 2008 byGovernment of India.[17] He died on 10 November 2012, at his home atBandra bandstand in Mumbai, after a brief illness due to pancreatic cancer. He was survived by four children, Rashna, Adil, Behroze, and Shireen. His daughter Shireen Gandhy, continues to head Chemould (nowChemould Prescott Road).[15][18]
In December 2013, part of Kekoo and Khorshed Gandhy's personal collection of art was sold atChristie's first auction in India. The sale included works by Gaitonde, Ram Kumar, Raza, Tyeb Mehta, MF Husain, Jamini Roy, Ganesh Pyne, and Pochkhanawala.[19][20]
Kekoo Gandhy appears thinly disguised as Parsi gallery owner 'Kekoo Mody' inSalman Rushdie'sThe Moor's last sigh (1995).[21]
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