JOIN USIn society, we begin with an idea of who we want to be and constantly work towards achieving that goal. It’s always about creating an identity. This exhibition is a tribute to the artist who creates identities at will in his paintings using his creative expression. Since artists live through their work, they can assume many different identities at different times creating a visual diversity which is a pleasure to behold,” said Shobha Bhatia, director, Gallerie Ganesha.
Identity Proclaimed: Exploring the Persona is a group show of portraits by 14 artists which is currently at display in the city. Presented by Gallerie Ganesha, the exhibition includes portrait work in various mediums ranging from oil on canvas, acrylic on paper and watercolour on paper.
The participants include prominent artists of our time like Akbar Padamsee, Chippa Sudhakar, Ganesh Pyne, Jogen Choudhary, Kavita Deuskar, Manu Parekh, Neeraj Goswami, Mohan Singh, Paresh Maity, Samindranath Majumdar, Suhas Roy, Sunil Das, Thota Vaikuntham and Yashpal Chandrakar.
The exhibition has a variety of art works ranging from Delhi-based Neeraj Goswami who likes to focus on the eyes in his work. Goswami believes eyes are “a reflection of a person’s soul, and even his state of mind,” while Kolkata-based artist Samindranath Majumadar prefers to call his portraits “faces”.
Suhas Roy’s preoccupation is primarily with the female face and form, and his subjects are romanticised, inhabiting the dreamlike world between sensuality and innocence.
Among the work by some renowned artists is that of Akbar Padamsee, a contemporary Indian artist and painter, considered one of the pioneers in modern Indian painting. Padamsee has worked with various mediums from oil painting, plastic emulsion, water colour, sculpture, printmaking and photography.
Adding an international feel to the portraits, is the work of K S Kulkarni who was chosen in 1984 by the Government as the National Emeritus Professor for outstanding contribution in the field of art. Kulkarni drew his inspiration from the folk and primitive art, be it Egyptian, Mexican and so on.
“He could work entirely within the Indian tradition with as much ease and consummate skill as he could adapt the modes of some of the western masters,” the organisers said.
Art aficionados who are particularly interested in the artwork from Bengal will not be disappointed as the exhibition features a number of artists from the state. Among them is Jogen Chowdhury, who lives and works in Santiniketan and Ganesh Pyne, one of the most notable contemporary artists of the Bengal School of Art.
Chowdhury has mastered the curves depict the character of his figures while Pyne is credited with developing his own style of ‘poetic surrealism’, Bhatia informed Metrolife.
The exhibition ends on April 15 and is currently on display at Gallerie Ganesha, E-557, Greater Kailash-II.