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| CROWS: A JOURNEY BACK TO THE NEST |
| 21 June,2008 - 25 June,2008 |
| Curated By: Khanjan Dalal |
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| Artists: |
| Amit Ambalal |
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Amit Ambalal’s site specific installation, `Crow: A journey back to the Nest’ curated by Khanjan Dalal is a body of work which aims to create an environment at this particular site ATMA (Ahmedabad Textile Mills Association). This building was designed by French architect Charles Edouard Jeannerct; also know as Le Corbusier, meaning the crow like one.
Amit Ambalal’s life long fascination for crows was the precursor for this installation. He also hails from a family of textile mill owner. Keeping all these associations in mind, the curator suggested this site to the artist to create an installation. This installation comprises of several mediums like Bronze, Fiberglass, cloth, found objects, theatrical lights and sound.
A dialoug between Amit ambalal and Khanjan Dalal:
K : Kagdana makanma tamara kagda ne bolaviye to kevu?
A : ?
K : For the simple reason that Le Corbusier was known as Corbu –the-crow-like…
A : It is the perfect nest for my crows, because, it is all about Corbu and his ATMA.
K : Will this exhibition be a site specific installation?
A : May be.
K : I suppose, there are many reasons why you use crows in your work.
A : I like crows because they are intelligent, sweet, savage, shy, cunning, notorious, exhibitionists and often ruthless. They also have a fine geometry of form.
K : …and?
A : They have a very expressive voice; listen to their many caws, coos, clicks and rattles. Their body language also expresses a wide range of emotions, like surprise, suspicion, happiness, distress and bravado. I like to watch crows performing aerial stunts from the roof tops of tall buildings.
K : Actually, we human beings also have a crow within us, but do not like to accept it
A : True, many people are named after birds, like Popatlal, Mayurbhai, Kokilaben, Menaben, but have you ever heard of anybody named after a crow, like Kakchandra? Never!
K : We like to pick and choose our identities and insist on saying; I am not a crow, but a koel.
A : Crows are full of contradictions. On one hand we treat them like ancestors and feed them sweets during shraadh, while on the other hand, we call them notorious.
K : Going back to ATMA, why do you want your crows to walk across the auditorium? Where are they heading for…?
A : I see the auditorium as a theatre of life; and to know their destination, you will have to walk with them.
K : ….what is this dot, looks like a micro crow?
A : Arrey… it is a bindu - everything germinates from it.
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(A conversation between Amit Ambalal and Khanjan Dalal as overheard by
Esther David)
The Indian Crow
He is a work of art, and "art is long"; he is the product of immemorial ages, and deep calculation; one can't make a bird like that in a day.
- Mark Twain
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(corbeau in French means crow) |
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| In Between...Bali |
| 02 May,2008 - 05 May,2008 |
| Curated By: Khanjan Dalal |
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| Artists: |
| Anandajit Ray, Arunanshu Chowdhury, Arunkumar H. G., Khanjan Dalal, Mithu Sen, Sojwal Samant,Walter D'souza |
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| Paper works from the Underwater Expedition to Bali in Januray 2008 |
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| Indian Ceramics Today - Part 3 |
| 15 February,2008 - 23 February,2008 |
| Curated By: Trupti Patel |
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| Artists: |
| Angad Vohra, Archana Das, Brahma Swaroop, Deborah Smith, Devi Prasad, Ira Chaudhuri, Jugal Kishor, K.V. Jena, Kavita and Titas Ganguly, Kumud Patel, Lekha Bhagat, Mandala Pottery, Manisha Bhattacharya, Mansimran Singh, Michel Hutin, Nirmala Patwardhan, B.R. Pandit and family, Good Earth Pottery, Primula Pandit, Rachna Parasher, Sardar Gurcharan Singh, Satish Chandra, Shantanu Jena, Soni Dave |
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INDIAN CERAMICS TODAY
CLAY, used as a medium of expression as well as function is the longest lived practice by man. Its continuous knowledge is a remarkable measure and mapping of the different cultures. From the terracotta that traditionally existed in India to the colored glazed tiles introduced by the Mughals, to the 20th Century introduction of both low and high glazed ceramic practices in the industry and art institutions, it has been a feeding ground for kick starting the use of the material by the contemporary practitioners.
The object of this exhibition is to give a picture of the development of ceramics in India beginning from the last century until the present. Such a survey, being inevitably selective has nevertheless aimed to include artist potters of importance in the development of ceramic art, craft and aesthetic practice. These have been represented from all over India, truly presenting an emerging language.
Early pots were made for necessary everyday needs whether used for storage, cooking, ceremonial or recreational needs of the particular culture. This context of utilitarian was applicable to the individual cultures creating cultural identities. These qualities grew out of an intimacy and association with local materials and local requirements. Most of all pre industrialization pots were made within this context. The potter’s identity was cultural rather than individual. Post industrialization, the role and purpose of art and craft has changed. We do what we do because we love to and need to express as individuals, not because of everyday functional necessity.
Traditionally, the potter as a crafts person is regarded as humbly providing utilitarian wares, sometimes rising to a higher plane of artistic presentation. In the Art of ceramics today, each artist follows an independent course of development seen in their relationship to their environment. The work is a reflection of social and cultural environment in which it is created .in.
A studio potter is an individual artist working alone or with some assistance to create pottery with personal characteristic style. Each piece of a set made by the studio potter, although not exactly the same, shares a similar personality. This would be the artists` original identity.
In the case of production practices by artists (non industrial), there is a repeated volume of design, style, and glaze made under the artists` supervision but executed entirely by trained assistants. This allows for a way of producing large quantities of quality hand made wares – ideal for functional purposes. These are made more affordable as compared to those made entirely by the artists` themselves. In India, the role of the traditional potter being trained to assist and undertake such positions of production is a case in point. Sometimes these potters too make individual works like Soma Shekhar of Good Earth Studio Pottery- Alibaug, Jugal Kishore S of Andretta Pottery- Himachal, or Krishnamurty of Mandala- Auroville.
From the Pioneer until the Present
The most prominent name in the field of studio pottery in India is that of Sardar Gurcharan Singh who went to Japan in 1918 to train in industrial ceramics, returning with exposure to the ceramic culture there and more closer home- Devi Prasad from Dehradun , who after his Shantiniketan study the 30`s setting up a ceramic studio at Sevagram(Mahatma Gandhi`s center). He was later joined by Kalindi Jena from Orissa. Their utilitarian ware combined .the best of tradition and philosophy of art and life in society since the independence. The history of Indian ceramics had started, joined by the likes of Nirmala Patwardhan, Primula Pandit, Mansimran Singh, Ira Choudhury creating distinct schools and styles around the country.
The new ness of the material began to erode with more experimentation encouraging younger generation of artists, teachers, as well as amateurs. The 70`s saw an explosion of artists such as Perin and Ralli Jacob, B R Pandit , Kumud Patel,Angad Vohra, Deborah Smith, Michel Hutin, , spilling to the 80`s and later like Rachna Parasher, Lekha Bhagat,Shantanu Jena, Manisha Bhattacharya,Aarti Vir, Sukhdev Rathod, Soni Dave, Brahma Swaroop, Archana Das………….
Trupti Patel 2008
Contemporary Ceramic Sculpture
Clay used as a medium of Sculptural expression in modern Indian art has developed significantly since the independence. With the practice of early sculptural thought embracing more durable materials like stone, wood and metal, the use of clay was designated to make macquettes or models for works in other materials. They were not generally accepted as a category of sculptural subject in most art exhibitions. The early exploration in the 1970``s of using clay and terracotta in such a climate paved the way to it eventually being accepted and appreciated as a medium in itself. With aesthetical appreciation, technical development and dexterity of committed individuals ceramics offers unlimited possibilities in the atmosphere of change. Today, many Indian ceramicists like their counterparts abroad travel and interact through higher education, workshops and exhibitions. They are developing individual styles based on global influences that they work with in relation to traditions of their own. These changes have contributed to an extraordinary divergence of influences and styles in Indian ceramics.
Ceramics today is open to exploration with variety of ideas and practices in contemporary expression for those who use clay as their medium. Some artists make large scale works for outdoors to extend the boundary of studio ceramics. The book is a humble effort to asses and present significant contribution made by art centers like Shantiniketan, Delhi, Baroda, Bhopal, Mumbai, Pondichery and ceramic individual artists in India.
Trupti Patel 2008 |
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| Indian Ceramics Today - Part 2 |
| 16 December,2007 - 31 December,2007 |
| Artists: |
| Abhay Pandit, Ashish Ghosh, Abir Patwardhan, Zaida Jacob, Neha Kudchadkar, Nehal Rachh, Ajay Kanwal, Falguni Bhatt, Vinod Daroz, Adil Writer, Sukhjeet Singh Kukal, Verodina DeSouza, Yogesh Mahida, Nidhi Chopra, |
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INDIAN CERAMICS TODAY – Contemporary Ceramic Sculptures (PART 2)
Ashish Ghosh studied Sculpture at Kala Bhavana, Visvabharati (MFA, 2001) after taking a Diploma in Woodwork from Silpa Sadan, Sriniketan, Visvabharati (1994). He was awarded “Artist of the Year”, B D Bangur Endowment (2004), and Outstanding Sculpture Award in Beijing Olympic Park Sculpture Design Competition, 2006 for XXIX Olympiad 2008. A solo exhibition of his ceramic sculptures was held at Nandan Art Gallery, Santiniketan in 2002. He has been invited to participate in more than 30 group shows in India and abroad, as well as several prestigious art camps and workshops. He has executed several commissions also. Ashish has worked as lecturer in the College of Art & Design, Burdwan University, West Bengal, as well as at Visvabharati, Santiniketan. He is also art advisor for Mrittika Ceramic & Sculpture Studio, Santiniketan.
He has this to say about his work, Neo-Veg Kabab, displayed in this exhibition, “Within the advancement of technology including genetic engineering, science today is trying to create new kinds of vegetables, which are bigger in size and shape. In my work I have tried to comment on this new trend.”
Ashish Ghosh lives and works in district Birbhum, West Bengal.
Abir Patwardhan studied Sculpture at Faculty of Fine Arts, M S University, Baroda (MFA, 2001), and was an exchange student at Ecole des Beaux Arts, Caen, France (March-July 1998). He has had solo exhibitions in Bangalore and Pune, and participated in numerous group shows and camps in India and abroad. He was invited for a 3-month residency programme in Den Hague, and has trained in pottery and ceramics under P R Daroz, New Delhi (2005), Volker Bauer, Berlin (2002), Nirmala Patwardhan, Pune (during vacations, 1995-2001). His project for a half-size sculpture of Ahilyabai Holkar was short-listed by the Govt. of Madhya Pradesh for installation in Parliament, New Delhi (2003). Abir has a deep interest in the performing arts, especially theatre and films, and has worked professionally on several projects as art director and set designer. He is also committed to the conservation of traditional crafts heritage and its modern applications and has also worked on several projects that promoted this.
About his two works, Seeds, in this exhibition, he has this to say …
'seeds that grow unnoticed
deep within a forest
unaware of their isolation
together form
a world complete'
Abir Patwardhan divides his time between Pune, India and Melbourne, Australia.
Zaida Jacob studied Sculpture at the Faculty of Fine Arts, M S University, Baroda (MFA, 1995). She worked at the Ceramic Centre, Vadodara, in 1999 and from 2004 to 06. She has been invited to several ceramic and sculpture workshops all over India, and since 1999, has been part of Group Shows on a regular basis.
She says, “Clay has been my confidante of long years, lending itself to me loyally. It has the charm to attract, tenacity to hear and freedom to speak; just as much as our friendship permits. My works in clay are direct and transparent. What you see is what you will read and maybe feel. The implications are honest and straightforward. Shifting from figurative /animal forms to abstract objects, I seem to preserve the habit of narrating…of letting you read my story. I enjoy working with any modelable plastic material. An alliance has been recently made with a synthetic medium that I call epoxy clay. A marriage of low maintenance. To me epoxy is a hassle-free medium, suitable to my temperament at present. I hope to grow playfully amidst a childhood of Barbie dolls and Power-rangers, of 2-minute noodles and burgers, of mobile phones and the Internet. I too feel the need to express and execute instantly. Epoxy clay has been as receptive, impressionable ... and expressive as the classical 'clay' of ceramics. Yet, I often feel that the one who takes the brunt of the fire emerges tougher and radiant. The rigorous process of ceramics ensures an element of surprise, adding layers and an extra dimension to the expression. My present work, In Transit, (stoneware) is a page from my travelogue, from clay in ceramics to epoxy, as also, a metaphor to my personal experiences of life…and yours perhaps.”
Zaida Jacob lives and works in Vadodara.
Neha Kudchadkar studied Painting (Mural Design) at the Faculty of Fine Arts, M S University, Baroda (MVA 2006) and Ceramics at J J School of Arts, Mumbai (BFA, 2004). She trained in Throwing under Ray Meekar and Deborah Smith at Golden Bridge Pottery, Pondicherry (2007), in Anagama Kiln firing under Australian artist Peter Thompson at Golden Bridge Pottery, Pondicherry (2007), and in Raku by Sandeep Mancherkar, Mumbai (2002). She has attended workshops by Peter Beard, (British Council and Cymroza Gallery, Mumbai, 2007) and by Vinod Daroz, Vadodara (2005, 2007). She won the Maharashtra State Award in Ceramics at Sangli, 2000 and the Award at Annual Art Exhibition, Sir J J School of Art, Mumbai, 2001. Her work has been displayed in several Group Shows. She worked on a 542 sq ft mural in the pediatric Ward at the J J Hospital, Mumbai in 2003, and in 2005 assisted in the art direction of yet-to-be-released film, “Jodha Akbar”. Neha is also trained in classical vocal music and Kathak dance.
About her work in the show, she says, “My work is my observation of architectural spaces -- sparse, clean spaces that I find extremely attractive; and shadows created by various elements, compositions that are simple but strong. This is the essence of my observation. I attempt to capture these through these slab-constructed, wall-mounted sculptures.”
Neha Kudchadkar lives and works in Mumbai.
Nehal Rachh graduated in Graphic Design from the Faculty of Fine Arts, M S University, Baroda (1994), spent a year working at the Kanoria Centre for the Arts, Ahmedabad (1995), and went on to spend seven months learning functional pottery and wood-firing techniques with Ray Meeker at Golden Bridge Pottery, Pondicherry. She had her first solo show at the Nazar Gallery, Baroda, 2001, and has participated in several Group Shows in India and abroad. She was invited to Residency programmes at VAAS International Art Studio and Gallery, France (2000) and Rufford Ceramic Centre, Nottingham, UK (2003).
About her work, Nehal says, “My introduction to clay happened simultaneously with my academic beginning in graphic design. Clay chose me; the attraction was instant. It has been years ever since and I find my passion for it only increasing. Each time I feel it, I discover new facets to its temperament and to that of my own; it becomes clearer why I choose to continue working in the medium despite moments of uncertainty and unpredictability. (Or should I say because of that!). My training at Golden Bridge Pottery was my first intense interaction with clay. Over the years, the abundant possibilities in Ceramic sculpture, coupled with my own need to express myself through it, has been steering my work. With each work, the vision changed, grew, blurred, gained clarity, until realization struck that the possibilities are actually endless, and the journey never complete. The current body of work addresses issues of comfort, security/insecurity, and a subsequent network of issues that emerges as a result of that. This work is a part of the same series.”
Nehal Rachh lives and works in Vadodara.
Ajay Kanwal studied Sculpture at Institute of Music and Fine Arts, Jammu (2000) and at Faculty of Fine Arts, M S University, Baroda (2004). He received the AIFACS Award (2001), Honourable Mention, Annual Exhibition, Indian Academy of Fine Arts, Amritsar, (1999), and National Scholarship, Govt. of India, New Delhi (2001-03). He participated in the 11th Triennale International Ceramic Camp organized by Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi, 2005. His work has found place in several Group Shows in India. He worked in an advisory capacity for gallery and museum shop design at Ammar Mahal Museum and Library, Jammu, and executed commissions such as a metal sculpture for the Oswal farmhouse, New Delhi, and a bust of Tagore for a Government School in Himachal Pradesh. He is currently teaches at the Department of Sculpture, Faculty of Fine Arts, Baroda.
About his work, Ajay says, “What turns me on where ceramic material is concerned is not its age old story and the various reasons why it has been used since ages, but for its ‘new look’ that offers me a variety of meanings that I search for on the concept of Illusion. Those meanings compel me to express myself in this medium.”
Ajay Kanwal lives and works in Vadodara.
Falguni Bhatt studied Ceramic Sculpture at the Faculty of Fine Arts, M S University, Baroda (MFA, 1999). She received the National Scholarship, Govt. of India, New Delhi (1998-99), the All-India Mini Sculpture Award, Bangaluru (1998), the AIFACS Award, New Delhi (1998), Residency Scholarship, Barcelona, Spain (Jan-April 2005) and Junior Fellowship, Govt. of India, New Delhi (2007). Falguni worked under Tim Andrews at a Raku Workshop, Delhi Blue Pottery, New Delhi (2007), under Betty Woodman, Golden Bridge Pottery, Pondicherry (2002), with Kristine Michael at a Paper Clay workshop, Ceramic Centre, Vadodara (1999). She has had four solo shows and been invited to participate in several group shows in India and abroad.
Falguni Bhatt’s ceramic sculptures explore spaces as defined but not constricted by the ceramic environs she encloses them with. She brings a rare maturity to her handling of the material, especially in the way she manipulates slab work in both the figurative and abstract work that she attempts.
Falguni Bhatt lives and works in Vadodara.
Vinod Daroz studied Ceramic Sculpture at the Faculty of Fine Arts, M S University, Baroda (MFA, 1999), worked with Ray Meeker and Deborah Smith, Pondicherry, on summer training (1998) and apprenticed with Peter Illsley, Daventry, and Sandy Brown, Bickeford, UK (2004). He received the National Scholarship, Govt. of Gujarat, New Delhi (1997) and Junior Fellowship (2002) and won the AIFACS Awards, New Delhi (1998, 2000, 2002), Harmony Judges’ Special Award, Harmony Show, Mumbai (2004), and the Charles Wallace India Trust Award, New Delhi (2004). He has had seven solo shows till date and been invited to participate in prestigious group shows and camps all over India.
He says, “I have been working on the 'Temple' series, and 'An Ode to Buddha' for the past few years. I consider my work as my offerings. The 'Ritual Vessels' are a part of these series. My work is my way of interpreting my emotions about religion and spirituality.”
Vinod Daroz lives and works in Vadodara.
Adil Writer studied Architecture at Sir J J School of Architecture, Mumbai (B. Arch, 1983), and University of Houston, Texas, USA (M.Arch, 1987). He trained in ceramics under Ray Meekar and Deborah Smith, Pondicherry (1998-2000). He has learnt a variety of skills working with and training under several potters and ceramists such as Jim Danisch, Jane Perryman, Mike Dodd, Sandy Brown, Betty Woodman (all at Workshops at Golden Bridge Pottery, Pondicherry), Savneet Talwar, Andretta, Kent Rothman, Mendocino Art Centre, California, USA, John Wolman, Grass Valley, California, USA, Paul Soldner, Rudy Autio, Tom Collins, Rodney Mott at Penryn, California, USA, and Manisha Bhattacharya, Kodaikanal. Adil has had two solo shows to date and been invited to participate in over 25 group shows in India and abroad. He is currently partner at Mandala Pottery, Auroville, and production and studio potter with Anamika, Chinmayi and Krishnamoorthy.
Adil Writer’s work is inspired by pillars, posts, temple walls, graffiti, weathered lines on rolling stones … and faith. He continues to be amazed by how the daily doses of faith in south India, where one sees how a simple stone lying by the road suddenly triggers off actions that end up transforming it into a sacred shrine. Adil also works with graffiti, scribbles, thoughts and ‘moods of the day’ which find their way onto stony clay surfaces, sometimes in clear and legible ways, often just a memory from the ‘windmills of my mind’.
Adil Writer lives and works in Auroville, Pondicherry.
Sukhjeet Singh Kukal took his Bachelors in Fine Arts, Jammu University (1998) and studied Creative Sculpture at College of Arts, Delhi University (MFA, 2001). At a workshop on glazes at the NID, Ahmedabad in 2005, he worked with Duncan Shearer, ceramist from New Zealand. He received the Junior Fellowship, Govt. of India, New Delhi (1998), National Award, New Delhi (2001) and won the AIFACS Award and Merit Award, J & K state (1997), Chitra Kala Parishad Award, Bangaluru (2001). His solo show of ceramic sculptures was held at the Garhi Studio, New Delhi (2006). He has participated in several group shows, workshops and international stone carving camps in different parts of India. He currently teaches Sculpture at Institute of Music and Fine Arts, Srinagar.
He says, “Ceramics as a medium comes quite naturally to me. I am drawn towards modeling of forms … inspired from anything in my surroundings … the forms ultimately arrive at a stage where they acquire more of spiritual connotation … Sometimes I wonder if my forms are a continuation in the great human tradition of feeling, touching and materializing an object in clay, which since ages have stood as interpretation of the movement of human spirit as a whole. Consequently my works on their very surface exhibit the imprints of careful handling and human touch.”
Sukhjeet Singh Kukal divides his time between Jammu and Srinagar.
Verodina De Souza took her BFA from Goa College of Art, Panjim (1983) and followed it up a year’s course in Clay at Teachers Training Centre, Mumbai. Her work has received National Merit Certificates (1991, 1995, 1999), Goa state Awards (1993, 1999, 2002, 2005), and Award at Exhibition of Contemporary Goan Art (1999). She has executed several commissions, the two most well-known in Goa being the 4-meter high figure of the risen Christ at Bambolim Church and Fisherwomen done for a traffic island in Panjim. She has had a solo show of terracotta sculptures at fashion designer Wendall Rodricks’ Couture Salon (1997) and has exhibited selectively in several group shows. Her work was selected for exhibition at the Festival of India in USA, at Port Huron Museum, Michigan (2001).
Verodina’s terracotta sculptures derive inspiration from the folk women of the countryside. She says, “While mastering terracotta, I would often visit potters in villages; such occasions provided me an opportunity to interact with rural women. I learnt to appreciate their strength of character, their ability to remain calm even in the midst of turmoil, their capacity to fight the odds and emerge successful. In my works, I try to bring out the strength and dignity with which they stand.”
Verodina De Souza lives and works in Mapusa, Goa.
Yogesh Mahida took his BFA (Sculpture, 1994) and Post-diploma in Sculpture from
the Faculty of Fine Arts, M S University, Baroda (1996). He trained under Ray Meeker at Pondicherry (2000) and did a ceramic workshop with Sandy Brown (at Pondicherry, 2001). He was selected to represent India and participate in the Tajimi Workshop for Ceramics Artists in Japan (2003). He received the AIFACS Award, New Delhi (1997) and Merit Certificate from Avantika, New Delhi, (1998). His solo show, Form and Glaze, was held at Sarjan Gallery, Baroda (2004), and his work has been displayed in group shows in India and abroad. He has conducted scrap metal workshops at NIFT, Gandhinagar (2003) and Dept. of Architecture, MS University (2006). In post-earthquake Kachchh, he helped set up Ceramic facilities in Craft Centers to empower and train craftpersons sponsored by CARE, India (2002).
About his work in this exhibition, Yogesh says, “ If there is a binding theme that knits these works together, it may be my experience and response to the people of the opposite sex, women who mean something in my life. The works are visible articulations of the gendered body in different moments in their life … The symbolism is mainly linguistic, experiential which is articulated through shapes, forms and textures, mainly the cubes and the coloured triangles … My attitude towards the subject is neither sympathetic not purely objective, but rather of a detached realization which I have tried to articulate through these means of representation.”
Yogesh Mahida lives and works in Vadodara.
Nidhi Chopra took her BFA in Sculpture from Rajasthan University, Jaipur (1997). Her works have received awards at Rajasthan state art exhibition (1999), Honorable Mention at an exhibition in Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal (2002) and Consolation Award at All-India RGACC Art Contest, Mumbai (2003). Her work was also selected for display in the 3rd Triennale, Karachi, Pakistan (2006). She has been invited to participate in several group shows all over India as well as sculpture camps and workshops.
Nidhi’s ceramic sculptures are an engaging coming together of form, colour and texture. Often inspired by plants and vegetables, her sculptures explore their interesting and complex shapes, the forms and textures highlighted in a delightful play of hide and seek.
Nidhi Chopra lives and works in Bhopal. |
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| Layered Trajectories |
| 25 November,2007 - 02 December,2007 |
| Artists: |
| Mahula Ghosh, Tanmoy Samanta |
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Subtle Matters
When one is constantly looking at and interpreting art in Vadodara, one must admit that this suite of water colour paintings by Santiniketan-trained artist Mahula Ghosh surely comes as a breath of cool, fresh air. The subtle delicacy of stroke-play, the gentle layering of translucent images one atop the other, the sharp edge of threatened or actual violence hovering palpably in the environment, the surprising stroke of iridescent gold, re-define the meaning and nature of water colours and lift them to a heightened level of seriousness.
Subtlety is the most significant and interesting element that informs these water-colours. In addition to the paint strokes, Mahula’s use of line is emphatic, the drawing coming out strong and vibrant wherever it is used. The colour shimmers on the paper, allowing for tonal layering to create an extra dimension. The artist’s visual language in the works on display in this exhibition straddles both the abstract and the figurative, and does so with a flamboyance that is mature and confident. In works like “Burn” Mahula also uses bits of paper that are glued on the surface of the painting and then ripped off to leave tell- tale marks much in the nature of healed scars.
The titles of the paintings are suggestive (Stain, Burn, Wounds) and offer a clear insight into the artist’s concerns, which are essentially fuelled by the aftermath of terrorist attacks and the horrific nature of terror itself no matter who the perpetrator. While the artworks do not directly portray the actual act of violence, her paintings capture the poignancy, devastation, and futility that every kind and nature of the violent act leaves behind, whether it is wrought by man against man or by man against nature. The physical ‘wounding’ is thus abstracted into a metaphysical reality on paper.
Mahula Ghosh has dedicated this exhibition to the memory of the late Somnath Hore. The artist and his work has had a tremendous influence on Mahula’s artistic development as a student at Santiniketan and in later years as a practicing artist. She exhibits a sensibility to form and colour that is reminiscent of Hore’s work but as a talented artist, she has been able to evolve and work upon her own visual idiom. As a result, Mahula’s work has a power and strength that it has received organically from within, and comes across as deeply meaningful and moving.
Visual Puzzles
How can anything that is so apparently simple actually be so inexplicably complex? Tanmoy Samanta’s paintings are like an enlightened philosopher’s simple statements that are loaded with layers of meaning. Naturally, these meanings do not reveal themselves until the viewer lingers over the paintings and actively engages with each work. The artist’s superb control over line drawing helps him to navigate images such that they transmigrate, merge into, or transform each other into complex visual puzzles with multiple interpretations.
For instance, at first viewing “Aquarium” does not have fishes, a tank or even water as its obvious content images. Instead there is a simple transparent bowl with a pair of tailor’s scissors resting inside. A closer look will however reveal that beyond the surrealistic imagery there is the all-pervasive watery turquoise blue against which the bowl is drawn, and it is itself reminiscent of the traditional fish-bowl, while the scissor blades lay flat to look like a fish-head resting on a non-existent stone slab. All of these divergent images bring “Aquarium” together. These images are not the stuff of artistic imagination but are sponged from run-of the-mill visuals of real life and infused with deeper meaning. In “Legacy”, the modest jacket, a little too well-worn and with large stains, is perhaps indicative of the nature of what one receives as inheritance – the warmth and comfort of the family but which comes with its own, not necessarily, positive baggage. But just like one cannot choose the family one is born into, one has little choice about one’s legacy and there is nothing one can do but to accept it with grace.
Tanmoy’s images thus freeze a dramatic moment, and endowed as these images are with the unexpected and bewildering, they significantly raise the level of image-making from the mundane to the extra-ordinary. “Cut Throat” is an interesting and powerful work. There is not a hint of blood-shed but the clean decapitation is indicative of an experienced, cold-blooded operator at work, the hint of limp bones and feathers gesturing towards their fate as slaughter-house waste. One of Tanmoy’s more complex works in this show is “The Master Key”. Is the key just sitting inside the uneven cube or does the box’s transparency allow us to see ‘what lies beyond’, including the key? What doors will this key open? What promises does it hold? Or is it a useless key, its lock lost forever? Each viewer will arrive at their own answers.
Tanmoy Samanta’s paintings speak a language that is deceptively simple at a superficial interpretation, but which becomes increasingly complex, sometimes even profound, as one engages in a deeper conversation with them.
Sandhya Bordewekar
Baroda, October 2007 |
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Stockroom 
