Accomplished ceramic artist G Reghu was in New Delhi recently where he displayed his ceramic work with a rural touch. This time the exhibition was held at the Art Heritage Gallery.
Over a leisurely cup of tea, the much praised artist talks about his life and influences. Born in Kerala’s Kilimanoor town where Raja Ravi Verma was also born, Reghu recalls, “When I was very small, I used to play with other children at the nearby leprosy hospital. Dr. Elizabeth Baker used to run it. On Diwali and Christmas Dr. Baker used to give us children paper, pencils and colours to draw and paint. She liked my work the most and so I got the art material throughout the year!”
The Bakers’ paid for his schooling from Class V onwards. “They gave me a small hut in their hamlet where they lived and I was there for three- four years. Mr. Baker was deeply influenced by Gandhiji and settled in India.”
His college was nearby. He would return only to work with waste wood. “Small carvings emerged and went to Mr. Baker. Before I joined Fine Arts Studies, Bharat Bhavan in Bhopal organised a student camp of final year students and I went for it. This was perhaps in 1986-87. I was selected from my college for this 20-day camp.”
His life turned around after this camp. “I felt I would rise if I get into a Bharat Bhavan level institution where masters like Swaminathan and M F Husain used to come. Swaminathan offered me what I was looking for. I jumped at the chance – a turning point in my life.”
From the beginning he was close to the soil and has a deep attachment to earth. It shows in one work after another at his recent show of ceramics that was greatly liked by critics and connoisseurs. In the rural ambience, a person sits reclining on a chair as if the sun has set and he is relaxing. Sitting in a circle near him are buffaloes ruminating idly as if they too have all the time in the world. Mother and child is a repeated theme in which innocent looking, simple mothers stand without any trace of worldliness on their faces. “I shall always be connected with the soil,” says Reghu.
Ceramic artist and critic Rekha Bajpe says, “In the urban context his work comes as a breath of fresh air. The innocence in his depiction is at par with the innocence of the depicted. One can just lose oneself in his world. The everydayness of his figures appeals to us and forces us to stop and think. The contemplation leads to the centring of our minds, a welcome side effect of enjoying looking at his work.”
