PROFILE
Woven Canvases: VANITA YAJI
Vanita Yaji’s paintings are unique in the sense that they
refuse to remain flat on paper or canvas. Although Vanita is a student of the
Painting department in Kala Bhavana, her tendency is to find form and colour in
a three-dimensional space, says young art writer Siddharth Sivakumar
(Vanita Yaji)
Vanita Yaji’s paintings are unique in
the sense that they refuse to remain flat on paper or canvas. Although Vanita
is a student of the Painting department in Kala Bhavana, her tendency is to
find form and colour in a three-dimensional space. She particularly enjoys
working with cloths as she cuts, ties, knits and disperses them to form her
work. Vanita uses colourful, textured textiles to fabricate her narrative. Her
works such as Palettes, Butti, and Golden Canvas are some intriguing works of art that fit-in within a
symbolic framework.
Vanita’s Palettes are painted with the ideas of unity, diversity and a
certain kind of identity, which are inimitable to our nationhood. India’s
layers of cultures, it’s medley of colours, rituals and religion, landscapes
and languages are so varied that it is hard to represent them. But in Vaniita’s
palettes of different shapes and
sizes, circumscribed are the multi-coloured bits and pieces of cloths drawn
from different ethnicity, geography
and cultural traditions. The great diversity of weaves, fibres, colours and
material of clothing is crafted into a topography that creates the illusion of
a vibrant India. And when India is served in the palettes, we look at it from a
bird’s eye perspective. Peeping down from the window of an aircraft, we appreciate
the cohesion of fields, mountains and rivers. Similarly in her palettes the image of India evolves as a
unit, the borders of a palette and the regional borders dissolve, and fragments
are knit together with colours.
In the countryside of
Karnataka, agricultural workers carry their meals wrapped in pieces of cloths,
which is locally known as “Butti”. In her work of the same name, Vanita once
again uses cloths to foreground a specific tradition from her native land. The
little bundles that are heaped on the bare ground are symbolic of the
hardworking men who are perhaps occupied in a field nearby.
Vanita Yaji states in her Blog, “Many people migrate from villages
for many reasons, and for some it is a ‘necessity’. Maybe everyone who leaves
for a new place carry new hopes and colourful dreams with them”. And she does a
series based on this idea. The work stems from Vanita’s own experience of
moving from a buzzing city to the secluded Santiniketan. In the tiny bags she
carries with her the hopes of a brighter future. Set against Ramkinkar’s iconic ‘Santhal
family’, the image becomes meaningful, a balancing act between “necessity” and
expectations.
Vanita’s Golden Canvas
presents the acquisitive nature of the modern world. This acquisitiveness is
the glowing golden colour that has spread across the canvas. Men and women
from different strata of life are clinging and climbing the canvas. Their
desperate efforts to reach the pinnacle, quite literally brings to life the
real picture where the stuffed-puppets symbolise human puppets, whose strings
are pulled by a rapacious value system. In her works, Vanita expresses her
contempt for the social-fabric that reduces the human entity to dangling
bodies, puppets pulled by strings.
Although Vanita usually addresses big issues with tiny figures and
small objects, occasionally she also enjoys working on a large scale.
NEWS
Essence of S H Raza
Lalit Kala Akademi,
Chandigarh will be screening a film on the life of eminent artist, S H Raza.
The film titled, ‘S H Raza- The Very Essence’ is directed by Laurent Bregeat.
The film will be screened on the 26th of May 2013 at 11:30 am, at the Auditorium,
Government Museum & Art Gallery, Chandigarh.The film is produced by Lalit
Kala Akademi, New Delhi.
Artist S H Raza needs no
introduction in the art world. Born in Madhya Pradesh, Raza was educated in art
at the Nagpur School of Art, and later on at Sir J J School of Art, Mumbai,
before moving to France ot study at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux
Arts in Paris.
He is a recipient of the
Padma Shri award conferred on him by the President of India in 1981.
The main thematic oeuvre
Raza is known for all over the world is his ‘Bindu’ series. The Bindu, a symbol
of a starting point or a seed, a beginning of everything, a point or source of
energy. He added various dimensions to this series and one could see the Bindu
develop into geometrical forms like triangles symbolizing the male and female
energies.
S H Raza lives and works in
New Delhi.
Maity’s Faces of Life
Bangalore based Gallery Sumukha, hosts a solo show of paintings, and
installations works of eminent contemporary artist Paresh Maity. The show is
being held at the Visual Arts Centre, Hong Kong, and will be on view till the
25th of May 2013.
Kolkata born Paresh Maity, is known all over the world for his
paintings, sculptures, photography and installations works which are hugely
influenced by his vast travel and journeys across the globe. His inspirations
come from such travel experiences and he incorporates them in his artistic
expressions with a flair and vibrancy of figuration and style, unique and
exclusively his own.
In his current solo show at the Visual Arts Centre, HongKong, Paresh
displays works with an undertone of semi-abstract figuration, in a series
called ‘Faces of Life’, which are portraits of Indian faces in colourful and
emotional scenarios.
He has had an array of solo and group exhibitions all over the world
and he comes across as a global artist. He lives and works in New Delhi.
Demolition Man - Bijoy Jain
Chemould Prescott gallery,
Mumbai presents a new series of installations by Studio Mumbai and Bijoy
Jain as a part of its interest in observing the relationship of art and
architecture.
The show is titled, ‘Demolition Series’ and focuses on the
instinctive and spontaneous response to something without the burden and
references of culture or conditionings.
The aim is to present an everyday environment replete with sensory
and elemental stimulants and the responses to each of those situations. The
installations are specifically created and designed by Studio Mumbai, founded
by Bijoy Jain, to evoke a certain indeterminate and sudden reaction through the
viewers of the works.
At Studio Mumbai the projects are developed taking into
consideration the place and a practice that derives from traditional skills,
local building materials and techniques, sometimes from limited resources etc,
are used.
The show is on view from the 31st of May 2013 to the 10th of August
2013.
A Sacred Passion
Art Spice Gallery, New
Delhi, presents a solo show of works by calligraphy artist, Parameshwar Raju,
titled ‘ Sacred Is the Passion of The Sacred Integrity’.
The show displays
calligraphy works by the artist in praise of the Lord Shiva. Parameshwar has
been mesmerised by the deity and the new works of calligraphic art depict the
god in various mythological scenarios from various scriptures.
Parmeshwar is known for the
calligraphic finesse in his art. He uses inks, and specially imported nibs on
paper and canvas to bring to life his favourite deities, like
Krishna,Venkateshwara, Shiva, Surya, Vinayaka among others. Also in this show
one can view his wide range of exclusively illustrated series of stories and
epics which he have been taken from Ramayana, Mahabharata, stories from
Jagannath temple of Puri, etc.
What one views is the
artist’s devotion and innovative style of calligraphy and the spirituality each
of the works exude. His calligraphy works are his way of being a part of the
divinity he depicts in his works.
The show is on view till the
10th of June 2013.
Fantastic Creativity Indeed.....
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