Dialogues, Voices from the Chamber, Duet of Art and more..

NEWS

Dialogues

(work by Ajit Kumar)

Durbar Hall Art Centre, Kochi presents a solo show of art works by artist Ajit Kumar. The show titled, ‘Dialogue’ is to be inaugurated by renowned artists Kanayi Kunhiraman and N N Rimzon.

The show displays water colour figurative works of the artist and aims to create a dialogue between the artist, the figures in the work and the viewer.

The works are on view from 11th of January 2014. The show is on view till 21st January 2014. The artist will be present at the gallery for an interactive session with the viewers on 21st January at 3:00 pm.

Of Horses and Bulls

(work on display)

Jamaat Art gallery, Mumbai presents a special show of paintings and sculptures by artist

Sunil Das  as a celebration of the completion of 15 years of the gallery. 
                                                                         
Sunil Das needs no introduction. Calcutta born and raised, he has travelled the world both as a student and later as a much feted artist. His love and passion, for horses made observe the Mounted Police Horses, and would spend hours studying their every mood and movement. Sunil discovered a primal force in these animals.  The lines writhe, sprint, speed along the contours, reflecting the impetuous spirit of the animal.

Using charcoal and water colours on paper, acrylics and oils on canvas, even sculptures in bronze, Sunil shows his animals free, untamed, natural. There are flashes of raw vitality in their spontaneous postures and movements. The show features some bronze sculptures by Sunil of his beloved Horses and Bulls.

The show commences on 8th January and is on view till 15th February 2014.

Voices from the Chamber

(work on display)

Chatterjee and Lal Art gallery, Mumbai presents the stunning works of a group of eminent artists. the show titled, 'Voices from the Chamber' is an art collection featuring creative art works by artists Rana Das Gupta, Sameer Parker, Gagan Singh and Nityan Unnikrishnan. 

Nityan Unnikrishnan is a Kerala based artist who is known for his quirky subjects of paintings. He is an alumnus of Ahmadabad's National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. 

The show will be on view till 18th January 2014.

Duet of Art

( work on display)

Pradarshak art gallery, Mumbai presents a unique couples’ show titled ‘Dual Show by Eknath and Arti Giram’. 

Eknath Giram is a young artist, who is slowly carving a niche for his figurative style in mainstream art. Using Krishna and his tales as his central theme, the artist communicates his thought processes through muted shades and subtle tonal variations that anoints the canvases.

Accompanying Eknath Giram in his 9th solo exhibition is Arti Giram, his wife, who debuts with her abstract paintings in acrylic on canvas.

The show is on view from 6th January to 18th January 2014.

(News reports by Sushma Sabnis)

FEATURE

Painted stories

Exhibition: A group of artists paint the biography of an era using the techniques and mediums of their choice

(work by Tejinder Kanda)

Biographies are to do with people but creativity knows no definitions. Creativity Art Gallery in Hauz Khas Village has taken the idea and placed it at the core of an exhibition that brings together 46 artists to document an entire era. At ‘Biography’, each artwork is an individual expression within a larger narrative constructed by all of them in unison. Debabrota Das, curator of the show, describes it as a form of socio-cultural documentation that pushes the boundaries of the formal definition of the title and also brings in an element of the artists’ subconscious.“You’ll see artworks from the 1940s to 2013 on display, representing different perspectives on different aspects of the era as a whole. Some offer criticism, while others have a more positive tone,” he explains. The idea is to create an experience for the onlooker with a wide range of artists, from senior ones like Tejinder Kanda and Somu Desai to young contemporary artists such as George Martin and Gunjan Tyagi.

( work by George Martin)

Kanda’s exquisite canvas has been executed in impasto, a technique that uses a thick layer of paint and a palette knife. The paintbrush is put to minimal use dictated only by necessity. Elsewhere, bright splashes of colour compose abstract forms but that’s only from a distance. Going closer the viewer will witness the story of a bustling suburban street unfold. “The beauty of anything I make lies in the richness of its colours, for me. And what an abundance of colours is available in a street!,” says Kanda.Another perspective of the cityscape comes from George Martin in his acrylic. Depicted in a riot of bright colours, the distorted shapes present the duality of big cities that are home to elite as well as common living. Shopping malls and parked cars share the frame with cycle rickshaws. “Everyone coming to a big city has their own existential reasons for doing so, and a sense of displacement is the key inspiration for this painting,” elaborates George Martin.

In contrast to such issue-based works, stand Somu Desai’s creations, made as he himself admits, purely to be admired, “My art is not issue based. I focus on the Indian aesthetic tradition, and in India art has always been about a celebration of expression. My idea here is to play with the surface and create an illusion,” he says. His signature masking-and-revealing element makes itself known when you realise what you thought is a chequer plate is canvas made to look exactly like it using a technique he loves — masking tape carefully cut and applied, painted over with more than 40 layers and then peeled off to reveal the shapes so formed.

Biography is on at Creativity Art Gallery, Hauz Khas Village, till January 9, 2014

(Report by Nandini D Tripathy for The Hindu)