Aashna Vivek Abrol is the founder of PozoART, an art blogging website that covers exciting news and interviews with eminent artists and curators from all over the country and abroad like Rameshwar Broota, Anjolie Ela Menon, Manu Parekh, KS Radhakrishnan, Jyoti Bhatt, Rekha Rao Hebbar, Arpana Caur, Pranati and Jagannath Panda, Vibha Galhotra, Bose Krishnamachari, Riyas Komu, Syed Thajudeen, Seneka Senanayake, Jayasri Burman, SG Vasudev and curators like Zehra Jumabhoy and Uta Ruhkamp.
Aashna, a young Mumbai- based art connoisseur and dynamic collector, is also the Vice President of NGO- Woman Respect Foundation (also called Nari Samman Sangathan) and Chair for the Arts Appreciation Chapter of the All Ladies League (ALL), an organization run by the NGO Women’s Economic Forum. She was honoured with the Young Woman of Excellence Award by the same NGO in 2019. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Material Science and Engineering from the University of Washington- Seattle.
“Art to me is not judgmental, it does not expect, you won’t disappoint it, it does not come with a manual.”
1.How did you get curious about art?
My family has been art lovers and collectors for a few decades now. However, the love for me personally began after I moved back to India. I was smitten by the Indian artists and their work. My love for these masterpieces drove me to partake in auctions and visit galleries. I was strongly fascinated by the perspective that artists have about the world around them.
I eventually became close to the Padamsee’s and helped them in archiving and researching all of Late artist Akbar Padamsee’s works. I then trained under master artist Rameshwar Broota in Delhi and thus began my journey to understanding art from the artist’s perspective. Travelling to PAN India I have met many artists from various backgrounds and visited their studios and homes, like Laxma Goud, Thota Vaikuntham, Sudarshan Shetty, Manish Pushkale, Satish Gujral, Paramjit and Arpita Singh, etc.
“I believe that every form of art is autobiographical; an artist splashes the colours of his experiences and emotion on the canvas.”
2.How did you start your personal collection of Masters at such a young age?
I still remember my first two bids were of an Akbar Padamsee head and Krishen Khanna paperwork from a renowned Indian Auction House. You can say that after winning those two in a span of 5 mins on a call with their gallerist, I fell in love with collecting.
Aashna’s collections now also include many works and belongings of the prolific, well-known artist MF Husain, Bhuppen Khakhar, Manjit Bawa, KS Radhakrishnan, Laxma Goud, Paramjit Singh and Rameshwar Broota just to name a few.
“Artists live in a different world and see the world differently, they live differently. I learned new things about, things I already knew”
3.Tell us about a recent project you have been working on…..
Oh…I try to keep myself busy. With the NGO requiring a lot of my attention due to the COVID 19 pandemic, it has been difficult to get time for art. But I have managed to start a Youtube channel to help everyone better understand our artists. I have done video interviews with artists Pooja and Iranna GR, Valay Shende, Seema Kohli, Shobha Broota and KS Radhakrishnan so far and will be uploading them in two parts showcasing their works as well.
I recently also worked on a short film on the Introduction to the history of Indian Art organized by the Ministry of Culture Government of India as well. You can find this on my youtube channel.
I do frequent exhibition reviews, I did one not too long ago for Lenbachhaus Museum in Munich on the Lahore LAC and PAG (Progressive Artists’ Group) at Group Dynamics: The Collectives of Modernist Period. You can find this on my website.
I would also like to mention my collaboration with artist Rameshwar Broota in making Giclee (High Resolution) prints. Let’s see what interests me next….
