Many styles and myriad forms of expressions, both in terms of art and photography, are on display at the Sublime Gallery in UB City. Over 18 artists, including photographers have displayed their works in pastels, acrylics, oils, charcoal, ink and books.
Many of the photographs this time seem to be dedicated to monuments and architecture. Pallon Daruwala captures office spaces; what appears to be glass cubicles. His works are soft and muted, appearing almost like a collection of eclectic paintings. Ashish Parmar also captures monuments, in his filtered view of temple sculpture of the Hoysala, the Qutub Minar and a rippling reflection of the Taj Mahal, looking even more ethereal in water.
“I believe that every era has its own colour and so does every monument. I've given a yellow shade to the Qutub Minar because I believe it was a golden period, ‘Hoysala Hue' is pink because I think it was an in-between era that was left behind. The photograph of the Taj Mahal, called ‘Aqua Love', is about the purity of water and the purity of love and it has a greenish-hue because the Mughals used a lot of green,” explains Ashish.
Amit Sharma captures the poetry of Hampi in his poetic, black and white photographs of the majestic stone temples and British photographer Joseph Cairns captures the bright colours of Rajasthan.
Architecture continues to be the inspiration in Shraddha Rathi's abstracts, composed of motifs from the ancient Indian sculptures. Uday Jain's acrylics on silk cloth and canvas are again, deeply cultural. He uses one of the most common representations of Indian folk, the man on the horse and paints him in a monotone against interesting backdrops of more figures.
One of the most unique pieces of work in the exhibition is Aditi Babel's book art, called “Altered Books”, where she creates sculptures by folding pages of a book. These ‘sculptures' seem flowing and complete at the same time, exhibiting some unique craftsmanship.
Complementing Aditi's light, refreshing sculptures are the more intense works of Jayanth B. Hubli and Ruchika K.C., in completely different ways. Jayanth's dry pastel works are composed of practised, efficient lines and conveys a sense of poetry and emotion in his imagery inspired from the everyday (in works like “Phoolwali”, “A Sacred Moment” and “A Watchful Eye”).
On the other hand, Ruchika's works are intense in a more obvious manner. She powerfully captures the expression of her subjects in rich works inspired by “holy” vistas offered by the Himalayas, through portraits like “The Stare” and “The Young Monk”, landscapes like “Himalayan Odyssey”, “Road to Paradise” and a mixture of both in “Man and the Tree”. “I like paying attention to features of my subjects in my portraits and in works like ‘The Stare', I've tried to highlight the eyes because I believe that eyes are doorways to the soul. In works like ‘Man and the Tree', I have tried to bring out the depth and the play of light in the trees juxtaposed with the meditating man. My art is an evolutionary process, like life. I like looking for intensity in simple moments and then showcasing these intense moments through my art,” says Bangalore-based artist Ruchika.
P.K. Mohanty's more traditional works are evocative of the beauty of the feminine form. He paints them stretched out near lotus pond or playing with swans, in rustic, partly sylvan surroundings, in abstract, almost fantastical ways that celebrate their delicate, sensual power.
Some of the other artists who have exhibited their works are Prakash Nayak, with his earthy acrylics, Sudeep Mukherjee, with his acrylic and charcoal series on bulls; Runa Biswas, with her unusual treatment of watercolours, Harsha Jagasia, with her sensual sketches ; Sheshu Kiran with his silent landscapes; Raju Terdal, with his folk-inspired figures; Pradeep Kumar with his intricate drawings and Ramesh Terdal with his pot-pourri of works.
Visit Sublime at UB City, 8th Floor, Vittal Mallya Road. Call 22711488.
