Sachin George Sebastian, Rituparno Ghosh Tribute and more

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Snipping Into the Future: Sachin George Sebastian 

‘A terrible beauty is born’, the famous saying by W.B.Yeats is what comes to one’s mind when confronted with the paper works of Delhi based artist Sachin George Sebastian. The apparent beauty of these works subtly flags out the terrible nature of mindless urban development. Sachin lets his imagination run wild though there is always a method in his madness, observes Johny M L

(Artist Sachin Geroge Sebastian)

Sachin George Sebastian does not miss the garba festival at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad which was his educational platform and home for almost four years from 2002 to 2006. He studied visual communication at this illustrious institute and his interest was to make pop-up books and re-interpret Indian classics like Ramayana and Mahabharata through pop-up books. He also dreamt of a day when he could establish himself as an independent graphic designer and designer of new age books. Sachin perhaps thought about his name amongst hoards of authors peeping out from the shelves of popular bookstalls. But he never had a dream of becoming an artist who would travel all over to exhibit his works in the major galleries of metros in India and abroad. Today Sachin George Sebastian is a sought after ‘paper artist’ and even while snipping away archival papers at his Delhi studio he remembers his days at NID, its peculiarly invented game with the strips of cycle tubes and garba dance of enthusiastic young girls and boys. 

Complicated architectural forms evolve when Sachin sits with archival papers, a pair of scissors and glue sticks at his work table. Had he been a controller of his own imaginations he would have become an architect par excellence, who could make three dimensional architectural models with intricate facades and unimaginable interiors. But Sachin lets his imagination run wild though there is always a method in his madness. Hence, he would like to call himself a ‘paper engineer’; an engineer and architect who could build sprawling urban scenes out of paper. What makes Sachin different from architects and engineers is his interest in translating complex ideas about urban planning and demographic complexities into artistic forms made out of paper which are representational and conceptual at once. Flowers and other organic forms transform themselves into imposing architectural models constantly mutating, while at other times his architectural mutations turn into alluring floral elements.

Six years back Sachin wanted to have a vacation in Delhi. A chance to be a part of the Khoj Residency for international book making at the Khoj International Artists’ Residency in Delhi turned the visitor in Sachin into a resident of Delhi. His experimental paper works at the Khoj attracted a few gallerists in Delhi and he was soon seen in a few group shows in Delhi. Today Sachin is one of the highlights of Rasika Kajaria’s Exhibit 320 Gallery, Lado Sarai, New Delhi. In the fifth edition of the India Art Fair (2013) Sachin was one of the major attractions. Exhibit 320 dedicated an exclusive booth for Sachin’s works. Besides, he created a huge black tree out of paper at the sculpture park outside the India Art Fair pavilion.

In Sachin one could see the meeting of contemporary imagination and traditional crafts. After a tide of artists getting their works fabricated or painted by other skilled agencies today most of the artists have turned to their own skills to produce works of art. Sachin’s works are exceptionally original and created out of artistic genius mainly because the creative dynamics is majorly driven by the traditional craft of paper cutting. But it is fundamentally different from origami. While origami delves in the pleasure of making identifiable shapes out of colored papers and invests its allure in miniature formats, paper art or paper engineering of Sachin is all about creating installations out of archival papers, which are capable enough to communicate the complex ideas about urban planning and development. In this sense, Sachin is a new age artist who uses traditional mediums for the creation of a completely different aesthetics.

‘A terrible beauty is born’, the famous saying by W.B.Yeats is what comes to one’s mind when confronted with the works of Sachin. The apparent beauty of these works subtly flags out the terrible nature of mindless urban development. When planning fails and when it keeps a disproportionate pace with the demographic movements from rural to urban spaces both architectural forms and human lives go haywire. The commotion of random development is felt in the growth of unauthorized colonies. Sachin brings out this commotion, this deluge of flesh, breath, metal, glass, brick and mortar in beautifully cut forms in paper. “This beauty contains a certain amount of monstrosity,” says Sachin.

His works are never two dimensional even if some of them are framed and kept inside glass cases. They transcend the frames, at times literally grow out of the frames as if the mutation of these forms is a never ending process even after being freed from the hands of this artist. Mostly Sachin retains the off-white hue of the archival papers and he never back lights or in lights his sculptural paintings or painterly sculptures done in paper. This artist is cut for a bigger break and a long innings. As Sachin is a designer and visual communicator by education it is easier for him to keep pace with the changing times as well as the revolutions in the visual culture. One can be sure that Sachin George Sebastian would snip his way to fame in the coming days.

NEWS

Memories in May - a tribute to Rituparno Ghosh

(Tribute to Rituparno Ghosh)

The Mirage Art Gallery, Kolkata , presents a show as a tribute for the untimely passing of the much loved and respected artist, actor, director, Rituparno Ghosh. Curated by Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya, the show is titled, ‘ Memories in May’ and displays a number of artistic expressions that the talented director was known for.

‘Memories In May’, displays a group show of  paintings and sculptures by 13 artists, a section of photography of three photographers, and a films memorabilia section where two well known institutions display their archives.

The participating artists are, Jogen Chowdhury, Subrata Gangopadhyay, Sanatan Dinda,Wasim Kapoor, Amit Bhar, Arun Samadar, Arpan Das, Partho Talukdar, ritu Bhattacharjee, Abdul Salam, Ashoke Kumar Varma, Akhil Chandra Das.

The photography artists are Amal Kundu, Pratap Das Gupta, Biswajit Saha

The memorabilia is presented by Sangbad Pratidin Robbar Archive, Shree Venkatesh Films Archive. 

The show is on view till the 20th of June 2013.

The Soulmate Show

(A painting by Priyanka Poogalia)

Women’s empowerment, human relationships and inner conflicts are some of the issues of any relationship. Artist Priyanka Poogalia chooses the much addressed topic of today as  an inspiration for her works in a show titled, ‘Soulmate’.

Priyanka renders her works in acrylic, oils, charcoal on canvas and papers. Her genre of works can be classified as contemporary figurative and semi abstraction. She attempts to bring to the fore through her art the various facets of a woman’s life, like love, hate, dedication and deceit, and the intricate human relationships she forms in the span of her life.

The show displays works mostly in monochromes, and with a dash of colour red for special emphasis on the visages of the protagonists. She feels charcoal can define the human form with precision and she chooses to use it majorly in her works.

Priyanka Poogalia’s solo show ‘The Soulmate’ is on view at the Poecile Gallery for Fashion and Art, Hyderabad, on view till the 23rd of June 2013.

Ganesha and Art

(A painting from the show)

The Open Palm Court Gallery, New Delhi, presents a two person show of contemporary paintings. The show titled, ‘ Ganpati and Chromophore’ displays the works of artists, Dr Seema Chaudhary and Nitin Chaudhary.

The current exhibition of the paintings largely consists two sets of divergent streams of art manifesting itself in the creations of the contemporary art and fantasy art.

The Ganesha series is a tribute to the deity and depicts lord Ganesha in his various avatars. The styles of the art work vary form canvas to canvas in praise of the Lord. The works depict the deity in various postures. The works are rendered in oil and acrylic on canvas. From figuration to abstraction to contemporary ways of seeing the favourite Hindu God, this show promises to appeal to every viewer.

The show is on view from 28th of June 2013 to the 30th of June 2013.

Khoj - Peers 2013 Show

(A work at the Khoj studios)

Video works of Delhi’s political power struggles and its effects on the common man, life size installations of a construction site assembled entirely with found objects and packaging material, sculptures hanging from the ceiling, made of razor blades, ribbons and other materials, the innovativeness never ceases at the Khoj Studios, New Delhi.

Five art graduates and post graduates from all over the country present a show of their innovations and creative intellect to address the issues in today’s world. Power struggles,  rampant land reclamation and the rise of the urban over the rural, man versus nature, all these themes can be seen depicted in the show.

The show previews on the 19th June 2013 and will be on view till the 21st June 2013 at the Khoj Studios, New Delhi.

(News reports by Sushma Sabnis)