Patience, perseverance and confidence are important if want to succeed—Jasmine Khanna, Founder, Third Eye art gallery

PhotoSparks is a weekly feature from YourStory, with photographs that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In this two-part pictorial essay, we interview Jasmine Khanna, Founder, Gallery Third Eye, in HSR Layout, Bengaluru (see Part 1 here).

In the earlier 140 posts, we brought you a wide range of creative photographs from an art fair, world music festival, painting fair, telecom expo, art museum, mobile showcase, math museum, social hackathon, bookstore, co-working space, sensorium, design week, flower show, startup roadshow, computer museum, startup festival, Diwali rangoli, Vesak, jazz festival, modern art gallery, ecopreneurs, painter-poets, health activists, eNGOs and digital innovators.

HSR Layout is an emerging startup hub in Benguluru and also home to art galleries such as Third Eye, displaying and promoting the works of over 50 artists. The gallery was founded in 2011 by Jasmine Khanna.

“From childhood, I had an eye for art and being a city girl did not have enough opportunity to be in the outskirts to enjoy the sceneries and views that the landscapes and villages inspired,” recalls Jasmine. But during picnics and holidays she would steal the opportunity to be amidst nature, appreciate the natural beauty of the place, and sketch it out.

“This is how I got drawn to art and later this led to the opening of the gallery Third Eye in Bengaluru,” says Jasmine. She collects work of inspiring and upcoming artists and gives them an opportunity to showcase their work and earn a living. Prices at the gallery are kept intentionally low to promote sales.

“I do not come from an artistic or entrepreneur family but got drawn to art due to my personal interest and passion for art. With the desire to keep my interest alive in art and to help upcoming artists, I started the gallery,” she says.

“Art is a field which requires recognition, and to get recognition the artist has to struggle for a long time. So patience and perseverance are important if you are confident about your work to succeed,” she advises. Her gallery has received a lot of media coverage after launch.

Jasmine is now based in Singapore. “My next project would be to romote my artists from the gallery and Indian art in Singapore and other places. The art scene there is very different from India where figurative art is popular. In Singapore most art that sells is abstract, and some very unusual art which I do not think would be saleable in ndia,” she observes.

“We just participated in the Affordable Art Fair in Singapore and sold some work of Indian artists,” says Jasmine. The gallery has participated in the annual Art Bengaluru festival for four years, though the art market is bigger and more mature in cities like Mumbai and Delhi.

“An investment in art can never go waste as a good piece of art will always appreciate with time and get recognition as the artist gets fame,” she advises. So when was the last time you drew or painted something – or bought a painting for your home?

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See also the YourStory pocketbook ‘Proverbs and Quotes for Entrepreneurs: A World of Inspiration for Startups,’ accessible as apps for Apple and Android devices.