ARTHISTORY+ founder talks inferiority complex in art, wants people to appreciate their own culture

“Iconic artworks from India are seen but not understood,” says artist and founder of ARTHISTORY+, Vaibhav Raj Shah. The artist has been associated with leading art insitutions like the BMW India Art Fair, The Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Serendipity Arts Foundation and more. And his reason for launching the channel is that art from our own history is rarely discussed, well, at least online.

“Our own history is not being discussed. There seems to be this allure but yet an inferiority complex is being formed in people about art. No wonder then, that people rather prefer to see a well explained David Hockney artwork and not that of an icon like Bhupen Khakkar,” he adds.

The short, informative and engaging videos are thought provoking and infused with humour. From Amrita Shergill's painting - 'Three Women' to M.F. Hussain's 'The Language of Stone' the aim is to take the viewer on a journey through famous artworks and their stories. ARTHISTORY+ emerged with a simple purpose - to decipher and simplify vast interpretations behind works of classic, modern and contemporary art and make them accessible to all.


"Somewhere in the rapid consumption of eye-catching and bone-tickling content - the depth of communication and nuances of culture are lost in translation," says Raj Shah. "We are here to create a ripple in the growing ocean of 'conscious content' - wholesome videos to inspire people with an artist's vision. People want and genuinely need to update their perspectives regularly”.

The videos are currently free to access and easily comprehensible for viewers above 14 years of age - so whether you're an art enthusiast or just out of school or a long time art connoisseur, it will help you gain perspective.

Some of their curated collection includes Indian artists like Mughal miniature maestro Nihal Chand, Sudhir Patwardhan, and Anupam Sud to international artists like Mark Rothko.