A month-long retrospective exhibition featuring the artworks of Devraj Dakoji opens at National Gallery of Modern Art Bengaluru today.
A visual artist, Devraj is known for his printmaking, drawing and painting. Globally he is dubbed ‘Master printer’. Originally from Andhra Pradesh, the artist is based in New York currently.
The show will feature 550 works of Dakoji, ranging from 1964 up to the present day.
“He started his journey into the world of art by drawing and sketching landscapes in Hyderabad. He was a contemporary of Surya Prakash and Laxma Goud. He switched from painting to printmaking later,” says Darshan Kumar
Y U, who has curated the show along with Amrutha R and Subarna Patro.
The retrospective is a peek into Devraj’s life and his influences. “Nature is a common theme across his art. You can also see hints of Ganesha and Buddhism,” Darshan adds.
In addition to landscape paintings and prints (mainly lithography on paper), the exhibition will also put on display 50 small format drawings and 134 tickets from ‘On the LIRR’ series. This particular series has been created over eight years, starting from 2014. He used ticket stubs from the Long Island Rail Road in North America as canvases. “In this series, you get to see the many motifs from some of his larger works in detail,” explains Darshan.
His popular works from the ‘Pranamu Series’ and ‘Rock Series’, both opened in 1993, will also be up for viewing.
On the second day, poet, painter and art critic Ghulam Mohammed Sheikh will give a talk on Devraj and his life.
Inauguration on September 8, 6 pm, at National Gallery of Modern Art, Palace Road. On view until
October 10, 11 am to 6 pm (Tues-Fri) and 11 am to 7.30 pm (Sat-Sun)
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