‘I Was Storing Crates in My Dining Room’ – On Launching a Gallery During Lockdown

APOLLO MAGAZINE 

By Niru Rutman

Niru Ratnam photographed in his new gallery. Photo: Damian Griffiths

I had no intention of being brave, courageous, or ‘the intrepid Niru Ratnam’ – as I was described in a significant piece of press on the gallery. I see myself as many things – a centrist dad, highly opinionated with a poor sense of boundaries, for instance – but intrepid isn’t one of them. This approach certainly had no place in the business plan that I put together carefully last year. Instead I had outlined my idea of a small commercial gallery that would embrace a minority-majority perspective and be contextualised by the issues I had written about and made exhibitions around over the last 20 years. My opening show was planned for April with three artists – Kobby Adi, Lydia Blakeley, and Jala Wahid – and I had a schedule for exhibitions through the rest of the year. [More] 

‘Suture: Kobby Adi, Lydia Blakeley, Jala Wahid’ is at Niru Ratnam, London, until 29 August.