Colours of the Land

The Fragrance of Rain Inspires Artist Ganesh Doddamani 

Inspired by petrichor, artist Ganesh Doddamani presents his recent works, a series of paintings which capture the fragrance and essence of places, at MKF Museum, Bangalore.  

He explains, “Over the past few years or so, my work has naturally and gradually drifted towards abstraction and a distinctive method of compressing the rich color and form of my environment into complex landscape paintings that imbue material reality with a deep sense of place. I combine color making techniques with the vernacular, in a bid to arrive at an idiom that is entirely contemporary.” 

Fields of colours reflect patterns and textures of the land. In this exhibition Doddamani waxes eloquent about the smell of rain, the first shower which soaks the earth and has a beautiful and distinctive fragrance. The heady smell that engulfs us when the parched land soaks up the first few drops of rain. The mist encases the landscape forming a veil that is poetic and romanticizes the atmosphere.

"I have been living and working in Bangalore from past 11 years, but my impulse to paint grew naturally out of my childhood. In my landscape concept, the very materials the painting is made of, connects it back to the land, since paint is essentially made from earth, from minerals," he elaborates.

Despite the abstract mode of representation, Doddamani ensures a deep sense of connect to his native land and landscape. The colours and textures are evocative and closely connected to a material reality that is very familiar to the artist. 

The Karnataka born artist Ganesh Doddamani showed interest in drawing at an early age, focusing mainly on the figurative form and also on the heritage of India. He later attended art classes while experimenting with colours during that period of time. 

Doddamani has completed his BFA with honours from the MMK College of Art, Gulbarga and an MFA from the prestigious Kala Bhavana- Visva-Bharati University in Shantiniketan. Over the years he has drifted towards abstraction and used a technique to enhance the bright and solid colours on the canvas.

There are 25 paintings in this exhibition and the artist will be donating 50% of the sale proceeds to support artists who have been affected by the pandemic and require financial assistance.


The exhibition continues till 29th Aug at MKF Museum, Lavelle Road, Bangalore.

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Art Bytes - Sparking Conversations Around Art

An ALL Bangalore Fine Arts Chapter initiative

By Jyoti C Singh Deo

The art scene in a Covid ridden world is bound to be on the back burner, or so it seems, but the art scene in a little pocket of Bangalore has been bubbling with activity. All Ladies League, better known as ALL was founded by Dr Harbeen Arora with the sole aim to connect women from various fields of life and to empower them. The onus lay upon pathfinders like Suchitra Kaul Misra, ALL Karnataka Chairperson and Nalini Malaviya, art consultant, curator and writer, who set up the Bangalore Fine Arts Chapter, three years ago. Nalini, with the support of the members of the group, has been instrumental in implementing several initiatives that connect artists and art connoisseurs.

ALL Bangalore Fine Arts Chapter Launch in September, 2018

In recent times, artists have been confined to their homes and this has been an ideal time for them to bring alive their canvases. ALL has been a perfect platform to showcase artworks by women artists. The fine arts Bangalore chapter has begun a series of Art Talks called ‘Art Bytes’ that showcases member artists from the city. The series delves into the works of artists and gives the audience an opportunity to interact with them.

The series of interaction began with Anjana Chandak, an artist, poet and performer, who is well known for her monologues, especially on Draupadi and Ahalya. Her artworks convey a rich spiritual side of her. Jyoti C Singh Deo, an artist, poet, writer and activist digs into her childhood days spent in the industrial town of Jamshedpur and coalfields of Jharkhand to create beautiful artworks. Her art depicts the apathy meted out to the labourers who work at the coalfields. G S Bhavani, an artist who is passionate about nature spoke about her works related to the conservation of River Cauvery. Her rock installations on the river bed and floral installations in natural environs are testimony of a heart that glows for the green world.

Next in line on Aug 2, are chapter vice-chair, Jyoti Gupta, a multidisciplinary artist working with mediums like acrylic, resin, inks and clay. These contribute to her sublime work with a unique style of art. Her work has been featured in several national and international events. And, Sharmila Aravind, who has actively engaged with art in its myriad forms - visual arts, directing documentaries, writing poetry, children's rhymes and singing. It has been an ongoing journey of self exploration and expression through multiple mediums.

Art Bytes is a journey that would be featuring more artists in the coming months.

Please share this article using the social media widgets at the bottom and do subscribe to receive regular updates from Art Scene India.

To write for us, email artsceneinfo@gmail.com

Also read,

• Art Scene India presents Convergence
• Art News (Bangalore) - Reimagining: (Un)Reality and Space
• How To Write An Artist Statement
• 6 Tips On How To Approach An Art Gallery And Find Gallery Representation
• Exhibiting Art in Non-Gallery Spaces
• 5 Reasons a Good Catalogue Text is Essential for Your Art

Art Scene India presents Convergence

Convergence, a collection of drawings, mixed media works & sculptures by Shanthamani Muddaiah, Shivani Aggarwal and Minal Damani, curated by Nalini S Malaviya starts July 24, 2020

The pandemic has disrupted the ‘regularity’ of our existence, where the new normal is a paradox, unrelated and at variance with memories of the past, disconnected from the present and a distant future. This interruption has necessitated a reconstruct and rethink of strategies, modes of functioning and a revaluation of what constitutes essential. The existing paranoia and other associated anxieties have brought to the fore several pertinent questions regarding factors responsible for calamities, unwarranted human interventions and indiscriminate actions that disregard ecological considerations. 

The hiatus, therefore, compounded by disquiet and turmoil, has compelled a deeper introspection of the human-nature coexistence and equilibrium, and of environmental, socio-economic and psychological sustainability issues, under transient and perpetual stress.

Amidst this, artists and art projects have pivoted to realign core practices to adopt meaningful human and community centric approaches. Modalities of engagement with the audience have also undergone perceptible repositioning with near total shift to digital platforms, and a predominance of artists collectives and community based projects. 

This curatorial endeavor embraces a collaborative model, an art and media collective, centered on the three artists’ core practices to relocate social and ecological realities on a democratic forum. The artworks and the online digital site, act as a resource, to articulate and respond to shifts in contemporary socio-cultural conditions. Art Scene India, a 14 year old blog, a digital publishing site for art information, in response to collective concerns and in view of the pandemic situation, now accommodates a conceptual and aesthetic shift to incorporate curatorial expression as part of its vision.

The democratic approach builds upon the artists’ practice that is deeply informed by environment and gender sensitivities, and social, political and geographical concerns – arenas that assume great criticality in the contemporary context. Shanthamani Muddaiah, Shivani Aggarwal and Minal Damani locate and realign their preoccupations, and present their recent works, much of which has been produced during the pandemic and is thus layered with current apprehensions, as a subtext to the primary narrative.

Shanthamani views the world around her through a prismatic lens, questioning issues that interplay between the individual and the society, the self and the planet. Her strong concerns about urbanization and its impact on ecology are reflected in her drawings and sculptural installations. Loss of agricultural land, and livelihoods, migration, commodification, and exploitation of human and natural resources, and capitalism as the dominant culture are some of the issues that she analyses and expresses through her large scale depictions. For this exhibition, in view of the online site for display, small format pre-existing sculptures are presented, which paraphrase fresh import in light of current contexts.

Shivani’s introspective stance negotiates the complex interrelationships between the external world and the self. She navigates the intricacies of linkages between the material and intangible elements, expressing the impact and the fragility of these associations. Her works map constructs around ethos, culture, gender and identity, deploying material as a gestural entity. Shivani’s visuals are embedded with symbolism, representing notions of self, while exploring emotional flux and confinements of space in response to the situational crises. Stitching and crochet allude to gender as a subtext, and aesthetics acts as a tool to construct the narrative. The sculptural nature of the works are markedly evident through use of multiple media primarily photography, painting and stitching/crochet.

 

Minal’s works emanate from a deep autobiographical space, reflecting upon the self, in conjunction with the external world, charting responses, which have an intense personal connect. Through a rigorous mapping device to trace diagrams and graphs of events in real-time and space, the intricate patterns that are generated, appear as macroscopic capsules of land, memories and episodes. Her current series acts as a witness to these times, documenting the volatility of the financial markets as an indication of the prevailing emotional turmoil. The fluctuations allude to hopes and dreams, fears and apprehensions, where the range of emotions reflect life during the pandemic experience. 

The exhibition functions as a convergence of material, site and situation to define the contemporaneous of witnessing, experiencing and living through the ongoing pandemic. 

 

Shanthamani Muddaiah

   

Title: Hands Year: 2019 Medium: Fiberglass on wooden pedestal Edition: Edition of 3 Note: Artist’s proof of is on display in Bangalore Note: The artist has done “Hands” in different sizes and materials over several years. Size: Each Hand: 20 x 10.5 x 7.5 inches Pedestal: 22 x 19 x 1 inches Artist: Shanthamani Muddaiah

        

     

Title: Flying Landscape 
Year: 2016 
Medium: Aluminium tubes with steel and Paint 
Edition: Artist’s Proof
Note: Larger edition is on display in Paris
Size: 10.5 x 16.5 x 21 inches 
Artist: Shanthamani Muddaiah

Title: Temptation 

Medium: Graphite with Charcoal on Paper 
Year: 2020 
Edition: Artist’s Proof 
Note: One edition will be larger in size Size: 
Big Apple: 2.5 x 2.5 X 2.5 inches 
Small Apple: 0.75 x 1.72 x 1.5 inches 
Pedestal: 8.5 x 4 x 1 inch 
Artist: Shanthamani Muddaiah

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Shivani Aggarwal

Title: Trap 2 

Medium: Acrylics and stitching thread on handmade paper 

Year: 2020 

Size: 7.5 x 11 inches each, set of 6 

Artist: Shivani Aggarwal

Title: Stitch Forms (Drawings) 
Medium: Thread stitching on paper 
Year: 2020 
Size: 4 x 6 inches each, set of 5 works 
Artist: Shivani Aggarwal

Title: Trap 
Medium: Acrylics and copper crocheted wire on paper 
Year: 2020 
Size: 12 x 8 inches each, set of 10 works 
Artist: Shivani Aggarwal

Title: Untitled 

Medium: Photography, acrylics and stitching on archival paper 

Year: 2020 

Size: 12 x 12 inches each, set of 4 works 

Artist: Shivani Aggarwal

Title: Dilemma 
Medium: Acrylics and copper wire on paper 
Year: 2020 
Size: 3 x 5 ft wall mounted 
Artist: Shivani Aggarwal

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Minal Damani

Title: Rise and Fall 1 

Year: 2020 

Medium: Archival pen on paper 

Size: 12” x 15.5” 

Artist: Minal Damani

Title: Rise and Fall 2

Year: 2020 
Medium: Archival pen on paper 
Size: 12” x 15.5” 
Artist: Minal Damani

Title: Rise and Fall 3

Year: 2020 

Medium: Archival pen on paper 

Size: 12” x 15.5” 

Artist: Minal Damani

    

Title: Rise and Fall 4

Year: 2020 

Medium: Archival pen on paper 

Size: 12” x 15.5” 

Artist: Minal Damani

 

Title: Rise and Fall 5 

Year: 2020 

Medium: Archival pen on paper 

Size: 12” x 15.5” 

Artist: Minal Damani

Inquire

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