The recent exhibitions at Ashish Balram Nagpal Gallery in Santa Cruz displays work of artist Chintan Upadhyay titled ‘Pet Shop’ the work forwards a critique on social hypocrisy that ranges from keeping 'pets' to keeping 'art'. "Art has become like pets," says the maverick artist Chintan Upadhyay. "Art is costly and needs special care and treatment. It has become a very expensive affair and only the experts can handle art these days. I play upon this association between pets and works of art. Perhaps, my babies have become so mischievous that they need to be caged," comments Chintan.

The gallery displays, exhibits and stocks the finest collection of contemporary and traditional art, sourced from various artist around the country. Its fine collection includes India’s most sought after artists, credited for their artistic, aesthetic and investment value. The range of art includes serious collector’s choices and budding artist’s works waiting to be discovered. Art collectors, connoisseurs, art lovers, architects, interior designers have had their requirements met satisfactorily and are regular guests of the gallery. They also feel the need to educate the intricacies of art appreciation, especially contemporary art and in creating awareness on the impact of art on everyday living and the effects of having good art in homes and offices. The gallery aims at educating the people to delineate between good and bad art. This will be achieved through discussions, write-ups and art appreciation workshops.

The gallery holds similar such exhibitions from various other artists of contemporary art, in fact, they are booked till March, 2009. “We have been showcasing the very daring works of Chintan Upadhyay for the last one decade and it is our pleasure to present Chintan’s social critique in the form of a project titled ‘Pet Shop’. Chintan has always been critical and this time one can see him targeting the very product of art itself,” says Ashish Balram Nagpal, the director of the Ashish Balram Nagpal Galleries. The next exhibition at the gallery is from artist Gagan Vij who will be showcasing some of his bronze sculptures.

Mithilesh Sharma, a student explains that he had come to view contemporary art as a political phrase rather than an aesthetic one. “The word contemporary has a dictionary definition as 'belonging to the same age; living or occurring in the same period of time; current'. The phrase contemporary art, however, is not simply used in this way as it is high-jacked by businesses in the arts sector (creative agencies, commercial galleries etc), educational and cultural institutions. The meaning of Contemporary Art alters depending on the political standpoint of the individual or organisation,” adds Mithilesh.

These exotic works of art are not only accredited by their artistic value but they also fetch a lot of money when auctioned. “If you sell art, the word contemporary is used to reassure the client they are buying something that is 'in-touch', 'on the pulse," says Adarsh Seth, an art appreciator from Bandra.