INDORE MAGIC

 

NAGUESH  RAO  SARDESSAI

Ten artists from Malwa, a plateau from Indore – Madhya Pradesh, have transported the fragrance of the place to Goa through their group art exhibition titled ‘Fragrance Of Malwa’.

The show currently on at the Kala Academy – Goa, has over forty paintings on display. Executed in varied medium, the artists have remained stylistically conventional but maintained a very independent and individualistic approach.

Works of Ajay Punyasi, Hemant Waingankar, Ishwari Ravwal, Khanderao Pawar, Narayan Patidar, Rajendra Verma Tamrakaar, Roop Kumar Kumariya, Shankar Shinde, and Vijay Kale enliven the gallery space.

Preoccupied with themes as varied as religio-spiritual to nature and environment to female emancipation, besides indulging in creative twitching of scripts, these artists break the serious definition of contemporary art to create their unique universe.

Narayan and Khanderao intend to unite communities and raise the tolerance level through their art. If the former uses ethereal and spiritual forms the latter employs scripts and individual letters to do that.

Narayan’s soft hues and delicate forms washed over with pleasing colours collectively entice the viewers. The angel forms holding musical instrument, floating in heavenly space, exude warmth. ‘I dream of a world devoid of violence and anger that’s spreading rapidly throughout the globe,’ says Narayan. ‘My paintings are meant to spread the message of love and brotherhood.’

‘Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram’ is an interesting work that espouses the value of truth. Truth, according to Indian culture, is an example of beauty and the ultimate reality, that reality which in other form is Lord Shiv.

Khanderao approaches that reality through everyday employed scripts. Independent letters evolve from the seemingly nebulous surface and assert its identity. Subtle texture and painstakingly applied multilayered pigment, inspires an alluring shimmer and prods the viewers’ to mull over the uncalled for attempts at instigating linguistic, community, national and racial divide.

Then there’s Shankar Shinde who, inspired by the colours of the region that has influence from Rajasthan and Gujarat. The bright hues and pastel tones coupled with visual texture together produces shimmer of visual tapestry. He’s preoccupied with nature and seems to draws his inspiration from the mysterious play of light, shade and seasonal effects on nature.

Vijay and Roop attempt understand the feminine force through the female forms. Roop is straight and upfront with representation forms articulating his concept. Soft tones of reds and orange and subtle drawing with identical hue adds a seductive aura to his paintings. Whereas, Vijay, with his stylized forms, work on the spiritual aspect of female energy where Goddess Kali and other forms of Shakti are infused with contemporary idioms.

Rajendra and Ishwari seem to juxtapose the old with the new and make poignant comments. Rajendra is more linear and stylized as against Ishwari, who exhibits boldness and intermittently incorporates realistic genre.

Widely spread slum looming against frighteningly isolated heritage structures seem to speak of social disparity and disconnect in one of Rajendra’s works. Hemant’s two-dimensional cutouts, in his paintings, played against bright monochrome and washed with subtly texture adds freshness to his works.

Shashikant works with crosshatching technique and plays with the neutrals. Magical play of black and white enhances the surreal compositions.

Ajay, the lone sculptor, has happy-go-lucky dwarf forms adding drama to the gallery space. The forms invite the viewers for a dialogue. Open gestures and clear expressions give voice to these seemingly mute sculptural pieces.

Malwa has given India poet and dramatist Kalidas, author Bhartrihari, mathematicians and astronomers Varahamihira and Brahmagupta and the polymath king Bhoja.

This creatively and intellectually fertile plateau has nurtured these ten artists and they show a lot of promise.

The current show will be on view till January 30, 2014.

RURAL LIFE

 

NAGUESH  RAO  SARDESSAI

“...and then, I have nature and art and poetry, and if that is not enough, what is enough?” thus had said Vincent Van Gogh, the celebrated post impressionist painter.

Mohan Naik, the reticent yet easily the most popular and commercially successful artist, follows the aforementioned life. Content with the idea of residing in Cuncolim, a village deep in the south of Goa, Mohan lives a life in the midst of lush nature and raw culture.

 He remains preoccupied with portraying rural life and ethnic culture on his canvas and in a way documenting this fast dwindling wealth of our tiny state – due to various factors.

Carpe Diem Art and Learning Centre – Majorda, which celebrates and salutes such ideas of preserving artistic and cultural heritage, has put up a show of Mohan’s recent creations titled "Rural Harmony".

Never losing focus, Mohan has displayed the intense and passionate draw towards nature as stated by Vincent Van Gogh. The symbiotic relationship of nature and human beings develops into a spiritual fusion that triggers a creative spark. Mohan is an apt example of that.

He remolds the seen reality to suit his agenda and reconstructs the tableaux with the typical Mohan touch - very sober, quiet and pristine. The simple tribal people, their attire, livestock they are dependent on, serene atmosphere and virgin – unadulterated – air comes alive through his works. The human-animal camaraderie is depicted beautifully. This captivates the onlookers and extends an unspoken invitation to walk in their world.

Deeply anguished by the desperate degradation of our environment and unbridled industrial development, Mohan hopes to enlighten people to the unconditional peace and happiness that nature showers on us mere mortals.

He is a philosopher-painter with no obvious trappings. His paintings are an example in revival of long standing Indian miniature art. Significant aspects from traditional, conventional and ethnic genre get restructured and find a place in his painting. Mohan’s paintings are an example in a healthy balance of the old and the modern.

He smartly has attempted to draw our attention to not forcefully patronize old school of art and very casually protected nature. Mohan contemporaries the classical and conserves the traditional in his own way.

With numerous solo and group shows, several workshops and invitations and art connoisseur, from all over the globe, holding his works in their collection, Mohan is a celebrity artist of Goa.

Mohan has put up 46 of his alluring works that stamp his identity for the show. The exhibition will remain open till February 24, 2014.

PRINT GALORE

 

 

NAGUESH  RAO  SARDESSAI

Rajendra Usapkar, noted artist, printmaker and mentor to several young artists along with Ryan Abreu has organized an exhibition titled ‘Mini Print Show 2014’ at and in association with ‘Art Resort’, Palolem, Canacona, Goa.

The exhibition showcases over 100 prints of over sixty celebrity and noted artists along with several emerging printmakers from Goa and across the country. The works of doyen of printmaking art such as Jyoti Bhatt, Laxma Goud, Yusuf, Walter Emilio Dsouza, P D Dhumal, Vijay Bagodi, K R Subbanna, Sushant Guha, Anand Moy Banerjee, Jayanti Rabadia and Savindra Savarkar will be on display.

Goan printmakers who have achieved a commendable level of success and admiration from the art connoisseurs includes Querozito Dsouza, Rajendra Usapkar, Rajan Shripad Fulari and Viraj Naik are also on exhibit. Besides this, Rajesh Chodankar, Aadhi Vishal, Sripad Gurav, Sachin Naik, Shilpa Naik, Pradeep Naik, Siddharth Gosavi, Kedar Dhondu, Ramdas Gadekar, Santosh Morajkar, Chaitali Morajkar, Swapnesh Vaigankar, Karishma D'souza, Prashant Nageshkar and Ryan Francis Abreu represent the state.

 The ‘Art Resort’ has been supportive of art and has been, for last four years, consistently providing space to local as well as artists from other places across the globe. The intention is to provide a platform to the exhibiting artist and exposing the local populace to the creative advancement prevalent outside.

The title of the show being self-explanatory, each work does not exceed 8x8 inches in size. It has on view, a rare collection of small sized prints produced of varied medium such as engraving, woodcut, lithography, etching, photography etc.  

Goa has rich history of printmaking. It has begun with the colonial masters. Goa was the first place in the entire Asia to possess a printing press. It was at the Jesuit Saint Paul's College in Old Goa in the year 1556.

The other artists from rest of the country are Nilotpal Dhwaj Sinha, Suguresh Sultanpur, Prasad Swain, L.Kiran Kumar, Dushyant Patel, Jagdish Tamineini, Praveen Hatwar, Chandrasekhar Waghmare, Soola Posi Prasad, Anamika Prakash, Murali Chinaswamy, Brinda Bhatt, Utkarsh Makwana, Amshu MS, Neha Pathak, Neha Kasar, Kedar Namdas, Ajay Dhapa, Sudeep Kumar Bashyal, Ritesh Umate, Chirag Panchal, Malabika Burman, Vinayak Pandya, Kalpak Kulkarni, L Raja, Shikha Gala, Vaibhav Kitlekar, Varsha Pednekar, Shalmali Shetty, Bharat Dodiya, Mughda Joshi, Sunil Darji, Debraj Goswami, Satyanand Mohan and Sajal Sarkar.

The show will be on till January 21.