PROFILE
Bonjour, Monsieur Animesh Maity
Animesh Maity’s engagement
is characterised by his rather old fashioned idealism. Beingan environmental-artist,
he foregrounds his concerns with forms and visuals, arousing sensibility through
aesthetics, says Siddharth Sivakumar
(Work by Animesh Maity)
Nature occupies a significant place in AnimeshMaity’s life
and work. From his childhood days he had a keen interest in Nature, which was
further fuelled when he joined college as a student of Zoology. During this
time the knowledge he gathered about Nature made him dread of its future. After
the completion of his course, he shifted to Kala-Bhavana where he could
artistically express his apprehension regarding the exploitation Nature.
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Animesh Maity’s engagement is characterised by his rather
old fashioned idealism. Beingan environmental-artist, he foregrounds his
concerns with forms and visuals, arousing sensibility through aesthetics.Yet owing
to his unique persona, Animesh remains under-qualified to be the artist who
knows well how to sell his concerns regarding environment. Animesh’s identity
is deeply rooted to his environmental worries, and art becomes the means of
self-expression.For his service to animals in and around Santiniketan, the district
Forest Department has presented Animesh with tokens of appreciation, validating
his ardent love for nature at large. However he doubts whether a substantial
difference can be made by an artist’s refute of the modern materialistic mentality,
which thrives by sacrificing environmental concerns. Therefore in his works, Animesh
represents the ailing nature with great anxiety, trying to preserve its
essence, primarily not to form public awareness but for personal solace. Nature
in its tangible self, and in artistic representations remain personal to Animesh.
Although Animesh’s idealism continues to be ineffective in the contemporary
society, it invigorates his creative-work. In paintingswhere he paints the very
uneasiness that troubles him, the lingering fears are manifested in fragmented
images, while an unfamiliar darkness descends on the greenery, the eternal
symbol of life. Animesh uses contrasting patterns, illusions, and occasionallygoes
further dividingan image into adjoining frames to recreate his ruptured
emotion.
Animesh often visits “Sonajhuri”, the patchyAcacia and Eucalyptus
forest near Santiniketan. While sometimes his paintings reflect the eucalyptus forest
as it is, there are times when they are stained by his fears; and rarely does
he embrace the image of the eucalyptus with hope. In his works local villagers
whose lives are linked with that of the forest, can be seen moving about it
gathering twigs and fallen leaves. On the other hand, avaricious people are never depicted, but their presence is hinted in the
destruction they cause.
Naturalism which began
as a movementof theartistic proletariat had Gustav Courbet as its first master.
Courbet saw the natural beauty
and native culture of different regions as ideal models for a socialist reformin
France. Animesh who has an affinity to Courbet’s egalitarianism, identifies
himself with Courbet as they share similar ideology. Thus Animesh envisions
Courbet in “Sonajhuri”, and says,"Bonjour, Monsieur Courbet".
In his painting Stage,
his idealism is staged in a theatrical manner. The black pitch road that goes
deep inside the canvas stands in contrast to the multi-coloured hot air
balloonsthat fly high in the blue sky. On the road, with a pile of branches and
twigs, a boy in yellow rides his donkey. His head is turnedback in an attempt
to catch a glimpse of the balloons. If this road be the stage where man plays
his part, then the slender trunks of the eucalyptus, are its wings. The road,
and the wings, soaked in black,take the shape of a sporting podium. And each
‘stage’ of this podium takes man a step closer to depraved aspirations. In such
a scenario the balloons turn out to be the metaphor of an acquisitive ideology.
The road that gradually narrows down to the genesis of bloated selfishness, is a
grim passage through darkness. The boy in yellow is not one of those who
mercilessly destroys woods for selfish gains; his life is bind with those of
the trees that provide him food, shelter and wood. Startled he gazes at the acquisitive
commotion in air as he rides his donkey away from the genesis of greed and
multi-coloured bloated dreams.
Animesh has always enjoyed painting on large sheets of paper
with water colours. But since last year, he has begun working with other materials,
such as iron plates, woods and glasses, which to his delight allow the works a
palpable presence.
One such work is Cityscape.
The painting is crafted with a six feet large rusty saw fixed against thesky-blue
coloured plywood. Beneath the giant blade, a thin strip of dark brown soil is
visible. But interestingly over every other shade, the silver of the saw makes
its presence felt. The metal-panorama glaring from within the black protuberant,
is a sight that hushes other voices around. The message is obvious and marked
by classic simplicity of presentation. While Cityscape takes after Animesh’s firm convictions, the clarity of
his derisive work makes it a statement of contemporary relevance.
NEWS
Zones of Contact at KNMA
KNMA tries to break the
norms of looking at a museum space as merely a dumping ground of old art and
artifacts and tries to energize it with the new blood of contemporary art in various mediums and art performances along
with various lectures and interactive sessions.
The current works in direct
connect with each other are the works of artist Masooma Syed, which are three
dimensional structures made out of cardboard, paper and found images, and
artist Samit Das’ handmade books which incorporate actual pages from unique
book editions.
Some of the other
participating artists are Amar Kanwar, Arunkumar H. G., Chittaprosad, Naeem
Mohaiemen, N. N. Rimzon, Rakhi Peswani, Ranbir Kaleka, Ravi Agarwal, Sheba
Chhachhi, Sudhir Patwardhan, Sumedh Rajendran, Sunil Janah and Susanta Mandal
The show is curated by
Akansha Rastogi, Deeksha Nath and Vidya Shivadas, and is on view till the 30th
of September 2013.
Translating Life Into
Art
The participating artists are Alexis Kersey, Chitra Ganesh, Design
Temple, Haraprasad Tripathy, Josh P S,
Manisha Parekh, Tauseef Khan.
The eclectic mix of mediums and expressions, displays fibre glass
sculptures and mixed media paintings along with collage works and oil
paintings. The artists in this show have been featured in solo and group shows
by the gallery earlier.
Some of the works are in the style of realism and some of the works
border on themes of fantasy and surrealism. Digital prints and prints on fabric
are also on display in the show.
The show is on view till the 1st of July 2013.
Graphically Indian
Ashok Mody takes inspirations from the father of the nation Mahatma
Gandhi and displays his tribute in graphic art. The works on display portray a
distinct style of depiction using reductive shapes, streamlined contours and
flattened planes of colours.
Ashok also draws inspirations from the generations of Indians gone
by, the so called dhoti and turban clad people of pre-independent India, and
monuments from that era. Ashok captures the essence of the Indian people and
displays it through a unique vibrant graphic style.
Figuratively Speaking
Art
Third Eye - Indian Art Gallery, Bangalore, presents a show of two
upcoming artists, titled, ‘Figuratively Speaking’. As the title suggests the
show is a collection of art works rendered in the style of figuration and
abstract figuration.
The participating artists are Mini Arora and Revati Gangal. The
works on display depict very varied approaches to the term figuration and each
artist has portrayed her understanding and emotions through it.
Revati ‘s work is primarily in acrylic on canvas, vibrant, fine detailing
and colour intensive. She portrays faces of young women in various situations
and moments in her works.
Mini’s works display a moving away from the rigidity of strict
figuration yet her abstracts in a very subtle way embody figuration. Mini’s canvases
are thickly layered and the relief works and textures give the works a new
dimension. The colours are vibrant and interspersed with muted tones and
values.
The show is on view from the 1st of June 2013 to the 30th of June
2013.
(News Reports by Sushma Sabnis)
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