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ARCHER - the graphic studio started its journey as a small atelier in Ahmedabad in 1978. The studio was founded by Anil Relia, 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.
Anil Relia has also come out with his own serigraphs and exhibited them in Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Delhi. His passion for art has allowed him to enjoy homely relations and art discussions with the likes of M.F. Husain, Jogen Chowdhury, Bhupen Khakhar, Amit Ambalal and Manu & Madhvi Parekh to name a few.
Aware of his background in screen printing and an inclination towards fine art prints, it was M F Husain who motivated him to venture in the publication of limited edition serigraphs in collaboration with contemporary artists.
Hence, with the vision of enhancing the Indian art market and giving the best to art connoisseurs, Archer initiated the printing of Limited Edition Graphics from 1994. Since then, Archer has worked on the path to bring out the finest works on both artistic and technical levels, completing numerous editions for some of the most popular and demanding artists of the day including M F Husain, S H Raza, Jogen Chowdhury, Manjit Bawa, Manu Parekh, Madhvi Parekh, Thota Vaikuntam, Amit Ambalal, Jyoti Bhat and many more. This in turn has played an important role in the development of the art scenario and hence, popularizing the demand for fine arts prints in a new segment of art collectors, who could enjoy the artists works at an affordable price compared to the paintings.
With the use of technology at its best, we have come out with the largest serigraph ever done in India - Husain's Mother Teresa, which was launched at Paris in the year 2004.
All the limited edition graphics 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. These genuine works of art released by Archer come along with a certificate of authenticity.
In the past 35 years, Archer’s commitment towards quality has brought it a plethora of awards like -
1985 : 25th National Award from the Govt. of India for Excellence in printing & designing
1991 : PAMEX - All India Master Printers Association Award, Kolkata.
1994 : All India Printers Conference & Print Expo, Kochi.
1996 : Award for Excellence in Printing at South Asia Print Congress.
1998 : National Award for Excellence in Printing, New Delhi.
In 2010, Manan Relia took over the art gallery business and brought it to a new level. A computer science graduate from Purdue University, USA, Manan has used his technical background to take the online art gallery to a whole new level. Archer Art Gallery is one of the top most online art gallery of the country and has a large base of art collectors and buyers from all over the world. After his joining Archer has added many more artists and their works to their ever growing catalogue of artworks. Several art exhibitions of many reputed as well as young & promising artists have also been organized. Archer Art Gallery has participated in many art fairs including almost all editions of India Art Fair, New Delhi.
Anil Relia who is now retired from the day-to-day business of the art gallery spends most of his time managing, researching and cataloging his personal collection of Indian Portraits. He has already held several exhibitions from his portrait series and more a being planned. The personal collection can be seen online at: www.theindianportrait.com.