Art Scene India: Indian Art

Showing posts with label Indian Art. Show all posts

7 Jan 2020

A Journey Into The Past

Nostalgia in Stone

Manjunath Wali’s recent series of paintings depicts landscapes around prominent heritage sites, primarily those located in and around Karnataka, capturing their essence. He brings alive these landscapes that have withstood the passage of time, imprinted with narratives from a distant past.

All works in this series have been rendered plein air, on site, in an effort to represent the ephemeral atmosphere, the changes in light and colour, and effects of light and shadow prevailing at the place. The vulnerability of the monuments and the locations are evident in the rendering; the onsite painting emphasizing the immediacy and transient nature of the event and locale.

The artist’s hometown Vijayapura, and Gadag, where he studied art, are important historical places with several specimens of Chalukya and other significant articulations in close proximity, which kindled Wali’s interest in history and architecture. Combined with his artistic sensibilities, these have formed a recurrent muse for him. Wali’s fascination with these locales has resulted in repeated visits to Hampi which have materialised in this body of work and form a large part of it.

‘Nostalgia in Stone’ captures the paradoxes associated with the sites - the fragility and notions of (im)permanence of the monuments constructed in stone, and the associations with culture and heritage as tangible artefacts. Wali adopts a naturalistic approach, with a focal point, and illusion of details in the foreground, allowing the backdrop to diffuse and recede into the distance.

The soft, sentimentalized atmosphere and the play of light form a sharp contrast to the stone monuments that heighten their frailty and vulnerability. The numerous surviving ruins of Badami, Hampi and neighbouring areas - the Agastya lake, Hemakuta hill, Virupaksha temple, the watch towers, Lotus Mahal and the famous Garuda Shrine are some of the historical landmarks depicted in the paintings.

The morning light, the glorious sunsets and the afternoon shadows frolic amidst the ruins to render an enchanted image, recapturing some of the lost grandeur of the place. The sparkling pools of reflection from the water bodies, dazzling temple gopurams in the sunlight, the view from the watch towers, the glorious Garuda Shrine in the form of a chariot in the Vittala Temple complex that appears to be monolithic, offer glimpses of a magical past.

Wali’s body of work, a visual artistic documentation, is a significant attempt to emphasize concerted efforts required for conservation and preservation of heritage*.

*Excerpt from the catalogue text by Nalini S Malaviya

‘Nostalgia in Stone’ is on at Reves Art Gallery, Bangalore till 12th Jan 2020

All images are courtesy the artist

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

For interviews, profiles, sponsored posts and to contribute articles, contact artsceneinfo@gmail.com

Also read,

28 Nov 2019

Waves of Imagination by Humera Ali

Bangalore based artist Humera Ali presents her recent body of works in her second solo show at MKF Museum of Art. Employing abstraction as a tool to convey her concerns for nature and its conservation, Humera depicts landscapes as large expanses of textured colour fields. She says, “Unleashing years of latent creativity, the show is oriented from my love for nature that transforms my rendition in a natural leaning towards abstraction.”

Verge of Dawn

She attempts to capture the gentle gradients of the terrain, the glimmer of sunlight on land and water and the various movements observed in nature. “My brush strokes using acrylic medium are seen as ‘bold’ and pigments used as ‘strong’ while being inspired by pointillism and knife art as a medium and technique. Observing the veins of a leaf, the textures created in water on a pebble are details seen in my creations.”

Marine Collision

The lyrical movements, patterns and textures inherent in nature are translated on the canvas. “My series on water is to recreate the beauty of the sea in tranquillity or rippling waves on the sand as I observe and create forms through a rhythmic pattern. Every canvas translates into a meditative experience with the intention to take the viewer in a narrative that transcends into another realm of their imagination.” The tender approach to painting reflects in the serenity of the works and the light and shadow effects displayed through tonal variations.

Confluent

The series of works aims to also emphasize on the need for immediate action in cognizance of rapid urbanization, climate change and global warming. “I use the canvas to express my intense feelings with a strong message to conserve nature as global warming has given rise to water levels with repercussions of land that is fast receding.”

She emphasizes, “this show is a plea to all who respect the vagaries and strength in nature to continue the movement of protecting our planet.”

Humera is a self taught artist driven by passion, she was later mentored by the Bangalore based senior artist JMS Mani. Her works are part of collections in South Carolina, Sydney and Canada. She also does community service by giving art therapy to children with chronic illnesses providing them with a healing touch.

Meet the artist on 30th November 2019, 4 pm onwards

Waves of Imagination by Humera Ali, from 30th Nov - Dec 18, 2019 at MKF Museum of Art, 55/1 Isha Villa, Lavelle Road, Bengaluru 560001

Timing 11-7 pm.( (Monday closed.) Contact +91 7373 887 557

All images courtesy the artist

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

For interviews, profiles, sponsored posts and to contribute articles, contact artsceneinfo@gmail.com

Also read,

Sponsored post

23 Nov 2019

A Journey Through Art by Anand Bekwad

Anand Bekwad's visual travelogue captures the mood and atmosphere along with the architecture and social fabrics of the cities and heritage sites that he visits. The depiction, follows the evolution of cities along important river trails that have been the genesis points of religious and cultural centres. Bekwad paints these as vibrant landscapes filled with energy and life, attempting to capture their historicity and distinctive character.

Blue Banaras - acrylic on canvas

"The series - ‘A Journey Through Art’ brings together a journey highlighting the artistic learning, philosophy and process of various art forms and sensibilities of the two regions, fascinated by its ghats, river, the people the city attracted and its bylanes throbbing with energy. Anand Bekwad, known for his watercolours and acrylic tries to narrate the journey of water with different landscapes of Rameshwaram, Madurai and Banaras. Certainly been in his mind he aims at publishing ‘views’ of the city from ‘complete plates and finished watercolours. Capturing through vibrant splashes of colour, and fluid line-work both the liveliness and poignancy of a timeless pastoral visual text," writes Ruchi Sharma in the catalogue.

Banaras evening light - -acrylic on canvas

In this series of paintings, Bekwad has worked with acrylics on canvas, deviating from his preferred medium which is watercolours. The Northern Ghats and the temples from South India form focal points of depiction in these works. The Benaras series include scenes around the river Ganga, with its Ghats, temples along the riverbank and other architectural features. The stories of the past and those of the living merge seamlessly on the canvas to create vibrant stills.

Chethshingh fort - Acrylic on canvas

'A Journey Through Art' is on view at Kalakriti art gallery, Hyderabad, till 29th November 2019

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

To contribute articles, please get in touch at artsceneinfo@gmail.com
Also read,

12 Oct 2019

Art News: Ochre and the Iris by Mridul Chandra

A Visual Travelogue

“Nature is so powerful, so strong. Capturing its essence is not easy – your work becomes a dance with light and the weather. It takes you to a place within yourself.” Annie Leibovitz

Art News: Ochre and the Iris by Mridul Chandra

Inspired by nature, artist Mridul Chandra paints the world around her. Vistas of landscapes from her travels are translated on canvas. She says, "Painting from this vast canvas has been the ultimate challenge, expressing what is in front of me in a personalised semi abstract expressionist manner. The eye searches for a way to depict the real in an unreal suggestion, leaving you in a state of being in the ‘here-and-now’."

She explains that this exhibition is a celebratory expression of experiencing the joys of nature and marvelling at its beauty. The watercolour paintings capture the atmosphere and the soft romantic moods of nature. "Ochre is the first colour on my palette; Iris the vehicle in the eye for seeing the world.", she says.

"My ode in this series is in celebration of well-being. Much like the practice of yoga, or meditation."

Mridul elaborates on how she gravitated towards watercolours,"Transition from oil /acrylic to watercolours came out of sheer curiosity. As time elapsed, I realised how immersive and captivating the medium of watercolours is. Employing a minimal palette, letting the colours flow, creating accidental splurges, enabling the painting to evolve with tonal gradations. Along with light and shadow playing a key role in creating the mood and atmosphere. By attempting small and medium sized works, the show in parts is like a travelogue."

As a result, a deeply meditative world emerges in her landscapes.

About Mridul Chandra:

Mridul has studied from ‘Sir JJ school of Art ‘Mumbai. Hailing from Kolkata, she now lives in Bangalore. Having worked with architects for the Asian games of 1982 to dabbling in graphics, she is now full time in painting. Spanning two decades of a creative journey, she has held solo shows in ‘Jehangir Art Galley’ Mumbai. Duo show in ‘Habitat Art Gallery’ Delhi. Besides several Gallery group shows in Bangalore. Participated in an all-Women’s’ Artist Camp in Gulbarga organised by Karnataka Lalit Kala Academy. Her works are with collectors in India and abroad.

At present besides studio work, she conducts water colour short sessions for the public to generate interest and well-being.

Inauguration - Saturday 19th October 2019, inauguration 3pm-8.30 pm.

All works can be viewed on https://www.mridulchandra.com/

Ochre and the Iris, solo show by Mridul Chandra, from 19th - 10th Nov 2019 at MKF Museum of Art, 55/1 Isha Villa, Lavelle Road, Bengaluru 560001

Timing 11-7 pm.( (Monday closed.) ph: +91 9845736550 +91 7373887557

All images courtesy the artist
Sponsored post

19 Sept 2019

Timeless Narratives by Veteran Artists

Veterans’ Vision, as the name suggests, presents paintings by three senior artists from Bangalore. The collection featuring recent works by CS Krishna Setty, Chandranath Acharya and U Bhaskar Rao, encapsulates their unique visual vocabulary and individual voices, ranging from intimate and societal fantasies and apprehensions to vignettes from mythology and tradition.

Krishna Setty’s metaphorical visuals interlace complex narratives around contemporary concerns. The forceful surrealistic imagery from his previous series has undergone transformation and depicts a perceptible shift towards abstraction. The hybrid creatures have receded and the recurring motifs and symbols have acquired ambiguous connotations, and are often hieroglyphic.

The mix-media works display significant textures and patterns, employed as an aesthetic device, and are remnants of the artist’s printmaking practice. The ambiguity of the hieroglyphs allows multiple readings into humanistic and existential angst, at the individual and a larger societal level. Fossilized remains or perhaps birthing grounds of indistinct forms, represent dreams or desires to form crucibles of compound visuals and narratives. The intense landscape generated, eerie and ethereal is disquieting, an infinite cauldron of life and consciousness with its associated anxieties.

Chandranath Acharya’s satirical commentary on the present political, social and psychological spectrum is situated at the threshold of fantasy and reality. His visual idiom combines a rare witticism with playfulness and surrealistic imagery. Royal figures, resplendent and clad in jewels and finery, indulge in ordinariness, a juxtaposition of opulence with the mundane, with undercurrents of satire and humour.

Larger than life figures, surrounded by fantastical objects and creatures, form imposing portraits filled with pomposity, absurdity and grandeur. Decadence and mortality come together in a single frame with incongruous imagery, in incredibly sumptuous detail. Human conditions and emotions in all its exuberance, transience and intricacies, are portrayed adeptly with an underlying sense of mischief and tenderness. His extensive work in illustration and printmaking are clearly evident in the paintings.

Bhaskar Rao’s protagonists are primarily derived from mythology and visual and performing culture. These often narrate specific and recognizable instances and episodes, chronicling fragments of oral traditions and culture. Rooted in realism, with stylised and illustrative forms, vignettes from native landscapes, myths and mythology and traditions and rituals, etched in memory through time, are represented on the canvas.

The puppets form a popular leitmotif in his narration, a juxtaposition of the inanimate with the sentient and as an instrument of storytelling. Performance as an expression of human nature, culture and experience, and its associated connotations with social, philosophical and spiritual perspectives acts as a symbol of representation.

The exhibition continues till September 22 at Fidelitus Art Gallery, Bangalore

All images courtesy the artists and gallery

Excerpted from the catalogue text by Nalini Malaviya

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

For interviews, profiles, sponsored posts and to contribute articles, contact artsceneinfo@gmail.com

Also read,

The Melancholy State of Happiness

Interview: Kiran Nadar on #chalomuseum

ART COLLECTION: Chitrakala Parishath, Bangalore

ART COLLECTION: Jaganmohan Palace, Mysore

ART COLLECTION: NGMA, Bangalore

5 Reasons a Good Catalogue Text is Essential for Your Art

2 Jan 2019

‘Real and Ethereal’ by Krishna Setty

Metaphorical Narratives

‘Real and Ethereal’, a solo exhibition of recent works by the senior artist C.S. Krishna Setty is currently on in Bangalore. Exploring notions of desire, sexuality and tradition in context with human experiences and stories, Setty’s works weave a fantastical realm where intensely private worlds are projected unrelentingly. The catalogue text describes, “Profound and powerful, the representations here are vastly metaphorical; yet are still grounded within concepts of politics, literature and the more nuanced understanding of a human life, our basic necessities, livelihoods and our deepest and the most secret desires.”

Untitled, ink and pastel on paper

The works are mostly ink and pastel on paper in a small format, which accentuates the exaggeration and distortion in his imagery. Setty layers multiple motifs to build the narrative, and the contiguous juxtaposition of elements and strong lines results in forceful visuals. There is a latent aggression and anxious tenor which is palpable in many of his works, a comment on contemporary society and emotional turmoil lurking under the surface.

Left deliberately untitled, the works are open to interpretation and manifold readings by the viewer. Reflecting the transitory times, Setty uses a compelling metaphorical language to highlight the existing conflicts, stresses and desires that conjoin, warp and amalgamate on the canvas. Using animal and floral motifs along with geometric patterns, and adopting repetition as a pictorial tool, Setty constructs the narrative. Hybrid creatures - mythical and unreal, emerge, blurring lines of fact, fiction and fantasy. A sense of unreality, which is disturbing, prevails, and lingers on.

‘Real and Ethereal’ by Krishna Setty, photograph by Nalini Malaviya

Untitled, ink and pastel on paper

Born in 1952, Setty hails from Thirthahalli, Shivamogga district, Karnataka. He pursued Fine Arts from the University College of Art, Davangere. He is the former Chairman and Administrator of Central Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, during his tenure he played a key role in vitalizing the art activities at the centre and ensured significant participation and involvement of the art community from Karnataka too. He has also served as the Chairman of Karnataka Lalithakala Academy in the past. He is the third artist from India to be awarded the honorary membership of Russian Academy in Moscow, 2017.

Krishna Setty has been an active contributor to the art scene, this exhibition of his works offers insights into his art practice as well.

The exhibition ‘Real and Ethereal’ is on at Art Houz, Bangalore till January 3

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

To contribute articles, please get in touch at nalini.indianart@gmail.com

Also read,

Traditional Mysore Paintings by Shobana Udayasankar

JS Khanderao retrospective at NGMA Bengaluru

Art Bengaluru 2018 - A Celebration of Contemporary Art

Art News: Recounting Memories by Gurudas Shenoy in Bangalore

Art News: ‘Art Bengaluru’ is back with its 8th Edition

L iu Bolin Brings 'Hiding in the City' to Bangalore

Art News: 'Bend' - A solo exhibition of contemporary sculptures by Kalyan S Rathore

Art Mumbai: Written on Water curated by Sanjeev Sonpimpare