Hyderabad is Sumanto Chowdhury’s muse. The artist who hails from Kolkata studied at Sarojini Naidu School of Arts and Communication when he moved to Hyderabad 13 years ago. He speaks with fascination about the small and large things in the city that continue to surprise him. The architecture, diversity in people and belief systems, cultural practices and its autos reflect in his work.
Sumanto portrays people and the city through paintings, etchings, fibreglass sculptures and three-dimensional works that combine painting and etching. “Hyderabad has many sub cultures, is colourful and has a lot of character. ‘Beyond Horizon’ is inspired by the city,” he says.
Beyond Horizon is also a synergy of the artist’s skills in print making and etching for portraiture, and becomes a study of men and women from the Old City.
A few paintings highlight the architecture of middle class houses in small colonies that don’t always follow principles of symmetry. One of the works has a house with zig-zag extensions that don’t conform to any norms of planned architecture. “These are like urban villages,” says the artist.
Elsewhere, he paints a vibrant image of a new housing colony. “New constructions are coming up where there used to be vast empty spaces and rocks in Madhapur and Gachibowli,” he remarks.
A sculpture of a door with white and blue floral motifs bears masks and fine line drawings of people in its panels. This, says the artist, is a tweak on the traditional vermilion and turmeric motifs he finds on several doors in Hyderabad.
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A few of Sumanto’s paintings are three-dimensional, an aspect he’s been exploring for seven years. 3D window etchings offer a view of the world outside homes.
The fibreglass sculptures, again, are portraits of men and women, and automobiles. Hyderabad’s autos are a recurring motif. A sculpture of an auto bears several motifs from the city and has seat covers made from pieces of fabric from the Old City bazaars. Peep in and you’ll find zardosi on some of the seats.
Sumanto also paints an autowallah as a four-headed God-like figure and quips, “The drivers are so active that I feel it’s impossible they are functioning with one head and two arms.”
‘Beyond Horizon’ is on view at Shrishti Art Gallery, Road no.10, Jubilee Hills, till November 12.
