The ongoing exhibition at the Renaissance Gallerie is a potpourri of paintings by a group of artists called “Indian Red” from Hyderabad.
With artists like T. Vaikuntam, Sachin Jaltare, Narsimhulu Kandi, Srekanth Kurva and Saraswathi, the exhibition showcases a whole range of styles. The exhibition is part of a charity show organised by the gallery for Christel House.
Intricate depictions
A number of paintings like “Love Divine”, a mixed medium work in tones of grey by Sachin Jaltare, “Krishna Leelalu”, a series on a feminine Krishna in ink and acrylic by Saraswathi, and the rich, intricate depictions of Ganesha and Krishna by Ramesh Gorjala represent personalities and themes from Indian mythology. This includes Vaikuntam's charcoal sketches of “The Pandits” and “Radha and Krishna”.
Quite a few of the others, like Narsimhulu Kande's “Mrs and Mrs”, a highly detailed depiction of Indian village women, paint pictures of rural India. There is the textile collage of “Bulls”, one in rich purple and another in red, by Sreekanth Kurva. The upper half of the bull's bodies' are assembled using golden embroidered or printed cloth while the other half uses different types of cloth. There is Shankar Kendale's oil on canvas, “Woman with a pot”, with an almost rueful woman in a black sari holding a pot. His colour palette is predominantly basic, with tones of black, brown and white. Bhaskar Rao's pink “Mysore Puppets” in a sort of a pastel garden is also rustic. But Kumaraswamy's, “Women and Nature” with two women camouflaged by what seems like a grassy field in autumn colours are more abstract (Women and Nature II is in shades of evening blue). G. Jagadeesh's “Snow Leopard” seems to be a commentary on the environment, with the leopard's form filled with flower patterns and the trees and earth filled with red houses.
But Nitin Utge's “Clowns” and “Little Girl with Custard Apples” go back to the Indian theme. Although, the baby peach-pink textured background in “Clowns” and the textured red background in “Little Girl with Custard Apples” (the girl is dressed in red), made the picture seem slightly gaudy.
The exhibition will continue at Renaissance Gallerie, off Cunningham Road until September 24. For details contact 22202232.
