There’s a translucent muslin cloth which hangs at the Nature Strokes exhibition. On the cloth Korean calligrapher and artist E-so Kim Young Sun and Anuradha Cheyyur have left their impressions of soft layers of colours and strokes of calligraphy. It seems as though they have jointly painted a dream with light deft strokes. The cloth tapestry seems to represent a sort of eclectic unity which also marks the artist’s joint exhibition on rice paper and ply wood with natural elements such as plaster, sand, wood, handmade paper, ink, natural dyes -and even coffee. While for Kim Young it’s all about painting a dream, Cheyyur’s inspiration is texture and colour and the way light changes the mood of an image.
Kim Young Sun’s black and white ink drawing on rice paper seems to catch in simple strokes the very essence of spiritual experience - quiet, Zen like and meditative. While using brush and drawing ink to create a structure she uses colour for embellishment as in ‘Apricot Flower’ an exquisitely proportioned apricot tree with the graceful branches touched by the red of the blossom. The exquisite calligraphy at the bottom expresses the artist’s feelings about her compositions. “I felt like a shy young girl when she is in love…” says Kim Young Sun.
“Orchid I and II,”, “Chrysanthemum I and II” as well as “Lotus I and II” again have the minimalism and poetic delicacy of Korean brush stroke painting and it is done on rice paper dipped in coffee!
There are more haiku like paintings. A touch of delicate yellow enlivens a lotus, the hint of thin blue lines create the illusion of water. “India has influenced my art says the artist. I use brighter colours now and have painted the Tamil people.”
Different materials
Anuradha Cheyyur works with mixed media such as acrylic paints, plastic, sand, glue, paper, scrubbing brushes and even fingers! She too finds music in nature. Anuradha generally paints on plywood, pieces which she picks up including the base plywood pieces on which carpenters do their work. The grooves and markings left on the base piece form a part of her art.
“A Prayer for Humanity” is a textured abstraction which incorporates detailing with handmade paper, ink and wood shavings and the legend “Voice, Sound, Mind and Love” in the Korean script. Says the artist, “These elements are what you need for humanity to come together.” “Fire and Ice” and “Bathed in Light” are other compelling compositions, while “Constellation “plays with sand, acrylic, and handmade paper on canvas. “Nature Strokes’ is presented by Inko Centre and Studio Palazzo at Lalith Kala Akademi, 4 Greame’s Road, till March 3.
