REFRESHING REALISM

NAGUESH  RAO  SARDESSAI

 

Manojkumar Sakale, Vijay Jadhav, Azharuuddin Inamdar and Mangesh Patil  recently showed their art works at the Goa Kala Academy’s Art Gallery. These names might not ring a bell but their enchanting works will surely pull one out of a stupor.

In this modern age of abstracts, installations and so-called creative art works, which many a times is wrongly equated with non-realism, these realistic pieces come about as a refreshing change. The viewer is led back in time when every individual saw works with images that connected with him or her and spoke their language.

Every genre has a reason to manifest and every generation has the choice. All four have displayed a commendable skill that is rarely on display. Smart concoction of realism with a dash of academic touch, that gives weight age to techniques and preciseness, adds appeal to their works.

Each of these artists has their strong points and they have worked on and exploited the same very judiciously. Azharuuddin’s fetish for classical genre made him explore the typical hues with apt tints and shades. Following the academic approach, he has painted boats, canoes, landscape, still-life etc. What stands out is the skillful application of chiaroscuro that adds a dramatic touch to the works. Interior of churches gets a surreal and spiritual vibrancy bathe with Rembrandt inspired colours.

Manojkumar’s sense of composition elevates the look of his paintings. Childhood fascinates him and their innocence draws him to paint their life. He skillfully manages the large canvas space by, many a times, allowing the negative space to overwhelm. This deliberate mismatch adds voice to his canvas.

‘Ballon Sellers’ has innocent kids juxtaposed against the fragile balloons to highlight the need for extending our caring hand to them. ‘Soap Ballons’ do the same. In fact, he held an exhibition of paintings at the Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai in various states of distress and delight that got a very good response.

Fishes fascinate Mangesh. However, a young girl reoccurs unfailingly in all his works that add a dash of human touch and innocence. He seems to correlate the fickleness of the human mind with the sudden and unpredictable movements of these aquatic beings. The seemingly incomplete figures and hazy, misty visual appeal accentuated by the texture of the soft pastels, that Mangesh applies, transports the viewers into an altogether mystic realm.

Vijay’s mendicants, folk musicians, horses, still-life call for attention. Shunning the delicate approach, he confronts his subjects with bold strokes and selective detailing. Vijay’s watercolour paintings of horses border on the study yet the structured compositions add special appeal. ‘Aditi’ is a fine example of Vijay in oils even though he has out up some fascinating watercolour art pieces.

All four, except Mangesh, have shown their works in oils and gouache. They have several group shows to their credit besides participation in noted art camps. Azharuuddin and Manojkumar has been the proud recipient of the prestigious Camlin India Ltd. Scholarship. Azharuuddin, Manojkumar and Mangesh have been the have received awards from the Bombay Art Society, Art Society of India and Maharashtra State Award. In addition to this, Manojkumar is awarded the Husain-Bendre Scholarship.

They put up quality art at its best and deserves patronage.

The show was on view from December 26 to 30, 2012

PRINT SHOW

NAGUESH  RAO  SARDESSAI

‘Sunaparanta - Goa Center For The Arts’ is hosting an exhibition of etching prints, by contemporary print makers of India, titled ‘Look At This Land.’

The show, curated by well-known young Goan artist Viraj Naik, features some of the veterans and master print-makers of India..

The works displayed here is the outcome of an Etching Camp and Seminar, titled ‘Celebration Of Expression Through Etching’ coordinated by Viraj Naik, in October this year, at this very center. Anupam Sud, Atin Basak, Dattatreya Apte, Jyoti Bhatt, K.R. Subanna, K. Laxma Goud, K.S. Vishwambara, Rajan Fulari, Rajendra Usapkar, Vijay Bagodi, Viraj Naik, Walter D'Souza were some of the seniors who made their presence felt and did produce some stunning works.

Loretti Pinto, Kedar Dhondu, Pradeep Naik, Ramdas Gadekar, Sachin Naik, Santosh Morajkar, Siddharth Gosavi, Shripad Gurav, Shilpa Naik Mayenkar, Swapnesh Vaiganker, Vitesh Naik and Vijay Bhandare represented the young Goans. 

‘Sunaparanta is a non-profit, process-based initiative to encourage creation, learning, understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of the visual arts through education and dialogue in Goa,’ says the founder of this project, Dattaraj V. Salgaocar.

And it was indeed a learning experience for the young artists who had assisted these veterans. This camp was an initiative to facilitate a dialogue between the experts and the novice and it did serve the purpose. The fourteen-day camp saw some of the noted printmakers present their works and elucidate their conceptual churnings and the subsequent outpouring in the form of etching.

Atin Basak, Jyoti Bhatt reached out to the art enthusiast and encouraged the young practitioners. These talks and presentations enlivened the atmosphere.

Going by what the veteran printmaker and guest speaker at the inaugural, Ananda Moy Banerji, says, 'only the hoteliers used to take graphic prints because they wanted identical works in their hotel rooms', we have come a long way. People, now, are taking print collection very seriously and view it as an independent form of serious art.

 The exhibition was on till January 19, 2013