Shri Khakhar Prasanna: Atul Dodiya

When the idea of a new gallery and an expansion programme emerged, it was very clear to Shireen that she would open the gallery with an Atul Dodiya show. Dodiya’s first solo exhibition in 1989 was held by Gallery Chemould and it was the first show that Shireen planned and organized entirely on her own when she joined her parents at the Gallery the year before.

That this particular exhibition of Dodiya’s, Shri Khakhar Prasanna, at Chemould Prescott Road pays tribute to the artist Bhupen Khakhar, is also significant. Bhupen was an important and integral artist of the Chemould stable and his work was exhibited in the inaugural exhibition of Gallery Chemould in 1963. Khakhar died in 2003, but his memory remains deep for all within the art community. It seems an appropriate moment that during this time, when Chemould goes on to its new venture, that the memory of Bhupen continues and in fact remains firmly ingrained. The inaugural exhibition of Chemould Prescott Road will celebrate the Chemould legacy as well as the long-standing relationship with both the artists.