Archer the leading provider for Indian contemporary art and serigraphs, since 1978, announces the launch of Archer Art Warehouse.

“It has been long overdue that our city deserves a place where an aspirant or a hard-core art lover can find various works of art. A place where they are encouraged for their love & affection towards art and can also be guided to select art that meets their choice. We have the pleasure to inform that Archer is going to gift such a place at a very large scale called 'Archer Art Warehouse' which stocks various works of art like contemporary paintings, sculptures, graphics and other folk art.”, says Anil Relia founder Chairman of Archer.

Founder of Archer

Anil Relia founded the group “Archer” as a small atelier in Ahmedabad in 1978. He is a Fine Arts Major in Applied Arts, Serigraphy and Photography from the M. S. University of Baroda. Under his able guidance, Archer has been professionally involved in screen printing activities for a number of renowned designers and companies.

His soft spot for art has inspired him to collect paintings and sculptures of many Indian Masters & Contemporary artists as well as miniatures, pichwais and many other vintage & rare works like photographs, photo paintings, books, stamps, lithographs, etchings etc.

Archer's Activity

From a studio in a small room in 1978, Archer started with design and printing jobs for small & medium business groups. Growing with time and successful results of challenging printing works for some publication & advertisement groups made Archer known and popular for creative and exceptional work. In a very short span, Archer had long list of corporate clients throughout the country. Relia says, “It was dedication to my profession and support of my family, specially my wife Tanuja that gave me the strength to work harder and harder. If I belong to the creative department of my company, Tanuja has to be called the coordinator of my company.” During the period of last 30 years, the commitment to quality & dedication of work paid off in terms of numerous National Awards & Achievements and blue chip clientele.

Art Publication

Anil's background in screen printing and his inclination towards fine art prints motivated him to venture into publication of serigraphs in collaboration with renowned Indian contemporary artists. His passion for art has allowed him to enjoy close relations and art discussions with several artists like S. H. Raza, Jogen Chowdhury, Bhupen Khakhar, Amit Ambalal, Manu & Madhvi Parekh to name a few.

Hence, with the vision of enhancing the Indian art market, Archer initiated the printing of Limited Edition Graphics in 1997. Since then, Archer has worked on the path to bring out the finest quality work at an artistic level completing numerous editions for some of the most popular and demanding artists of the day including Jogen Chowdhury, Amit Ambalal, S. H. Raza, Manjit Bawa, Manu Parekh, Madhvi Parekh and Thota Vaikuntam.

All the Limited Edition prints executed by Archer are carefully examined and signed by the respective artist making it a collectable piece of art. The materials used in producing a Limited Edition print are of archival quality, this is done to preserve the life of the print and to prevent discoloration. This genuine works of art released by Archer comes along with a Certificate of Authenticity. This has played an important role in the development of the art scene in India by popularizing the demand for fine art prints in a new segment; people could now enjoy the artists' work at an affordable price compared to the original paintings.

The concept of Art Warehouse

“As said, my family is my strength and this time my son Manan, his wife Ishani, and my daughter Radhika have joined forces to make my wish come true.” says Anil Relia. Manan & Ishani Relia, with their professional experience from overseas, and Radhika with a degree in art have helped in opening the Art Warehouse. “Since childhood I found myself playing with my father's art collection and now it is my turn to take his company to the next milestone.” says Manan Relia.

At Archer Art Warehouse, you can spot works of art by renowned Indian artists like S. H. Raza, K. G. Subramanyan, Jogen Chowdhury, Manjit Bawa, Amit Ambalal & many more. At the same time they can also discover a range of Ravi Varma Lithographs, folk-art like Pichwais, Miniatures, Kali-ghat paintings, Bastar Sculptures etc.

Manan adds, “People have the misconception that good works of art are very expensive and can be bought only through art galleries. That is not true; we have a wide array of art at very reasonable prices. We want to make sure that even small to medium scale buyers can afford to own good art.”

The 10000 sq. ft space is divided into two floors, in which one floor will display a featured collection from time to time. The space is focused on satisfying the demand for art of artists of different segments as well as providing platform to upcoming and emerging local artists. For this first time in Gujarat a retail store of this magnitude has opened for public. Archer Art Warehouse will also provide works similar to those provided by large galleries in cities like Delhi and Mumbai.

Art as an Investment

Anil Relia says, “Art is not limited to a particular medium. It can be a painting; sculpture; drawing; fine art print (limited edition graphic); mural or installation.  And it is no longer considered a waste of money. If we go back ten to fifteen years, prices of art by many promising artists were 5 to 10 times lower as compared to today's market. An art lover, who bought such art, can now be proud to have art of this repute. This can now happen to present up-coming new artists, who are promising in their work. Having art pieces hang on your walls is status symbol now.” Indian art is now comparable to other world class art and so its demand is also growing.

Promotion of Art & Artists

Anil Relia says, “It is the moral responsibility for every human being to pay back to the society for providing such a disciplined, healthy and helpful environment. I always try to support emerging local artists by organizing exhibitions; and I want to make sure that art lovers can enjoy some remarkable art.” Archer has done many exhibitions in various cities of India like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Surat etc. and overseas like Chicago, London, Singapore, Dubai, Beijing etc. Archer has also published many books on artists like Kalaguru Shri Ravishankar Raval, S. H. Raza,  etc.