Solo show by Gurudas Shenoy from Saturday

In ‘Journeys Within’, his latest exhibition, artist Gurudas Shenoy has attempted something unusual for him — a series of charcoal drawings over layers of old newspaper clippings. “The sepia tone of aged paper works well with my charcoal works,” says the Bengaluru-based artist, as we walk around Artisera, the Indiranagar gallery where the show is scheduled to open on March 8. 

The solo show, which comprises two series — ‘Timeless Narratives’ and ‘Spiritual Odyssey’ — marks his 60th birthday and is a reflection of his 40-year journey as an artist. 

The former is a collection of still-life charcoal drawings and oil paintings that bring back some of Shenoy’s preferred motifs and themes — the temples and boats of Varanasi, the boulders of Hampi, potted plants, trunks, and books. “I first create the basic framework, and then allow myself to travel within the painting,” he states.

One particularly striking work depicts an open vintage-style window that offers a bird’s eye view of the Hampi boulders and temples perched on hills. The ledge holds potted plants and a stack of books. 

Pointing to an image of a trunk in one of his works, he says, “That was my sole property when I was a child. It held all my prized possessions — the unusual stones, seashells and stamps I would collect,” he recalls. 

The stack of books, on the other hand, are a representation of the volumes of ‘American Artist’, an art magazine his father, artist G S Shenoy, would buy. “He would collect and bind 10 issues together to make a single book,” he shares. 

In Spiritual Odyssey, his signature abstract landscapes find new expression through a more liberal use of space. Burnt sienna, cadmium orange, cerulean blue, indigo, and more come together to make for canvases that capture different moods — gloomy, sunny, meditative and peaceful. “There are also more objects making it onto the canvas as I evolve as an artist,” he says. At his studio in Vijayanagar, Shenoy enjoys the company of nature and music as he works. An overgrown flame of the forest peeks over the terrace. “It is beautiful,” says the artist, who is greatly influenced by nature and his childhood memories of growing up in coastal Udupi.

Journeys Within, March 8-30, at Artisera, Indiranagar. For details, call 78998 82277