We live in a city that’s grappling with change. Construction of flyovers and pillars erected for metro rail are transforming the skyline of the city. Maredu Ramu’s paintings mirror this changing landscape of the city.
At Expressive Contemplations, an exhibition of paintings by four artists, his work focuses on the urban landscape. At first, he draws our attention to thick vegetation. Thick stalks, bulbous heads that look like cacti and a hint of green is all we see. In successive paintings, he zooms out from the vegetation lining an arterial road in the city to bring in incomplete flyovers and pillars, hoardings of newspapers, retail stores and matrimonial websites dotting the skyline and boards ‘under construction’ and ‘work in progress’. Ramu’s paintings showcase a city in transition through mixed media and acrylic on canvas. He also presents images of a troubled city where statues have to be covered to be protected.
Palak Dubey’s paintings, acrylic on acrylic sheets, uses diffused layers to give a surreal effect. We see fluid strokes to represent women almost resembling mermaids, except that they are not in water. Palak uses shades of dull and deep pink to show women against the urban landscape or juxtaposed against full blooms. One painting, mounted on glass, manages a 3D effect with some outlining done on glass.
Moving away from acrylic, Nirmala Biluka uses watercolour on paper to sketch men and women juxtaposed against nature — animals, birds and vegetation. Layers come into play in Nirmala’s works as well.
Faces are the focus of Nirmal Karmakar’s acrylic on canvas paintings. The artist chooses one or two striking elements and avoids cluttering the canvas with too many details. We see faces with a bronzed appearance and vermillion foreheads set against a greyish black background, almost like stone walls of a temple. The bronze effect make the portraits appear as statues. One of the paintings depicts Krishna with a flute, but the others are devoid of overt mythological symbols.
What: Expressive Contemplations, paintings by Maredu Ramu, Nirmal Karmakar, Nirmala Biluka and Palak Dubey
Where: Alankritha Art Gallery, Kavuri Hills, Madhapur
When: Till November 28.
