Archana R. Biswas is one of the few women artistes to have an enviable body of work in lithographs. The process is cumbersome and the market for lithographs, according to those in the know how in the art circuit, has shrunken.
Yet, there are collectors and gallery owners who seek out art lithographs. The texture and tonality that lithographs offer, argues curator Avani Rao Gandra, is hard to find in oil-on-canvas or watercolour paintings. “The medium is 50 per cent of the work done,” she says. Archana, who studied art at Shantiniketan and Baroda, seconds that and adds, “I don’t find many art students inclined towards lithographs now. It’s not easy to arrive at the fine lines on a lithograph and the more colours you use, the tougher is the process.”
Mystical Musings, on view at Iconart gallery, offers a glimpse into Archana’s work since the 90s. She mostly focuses on people, faces in particular. A mini series that shows people reacting to the day’s news has streaks of worry on the faces of a family, mulling over what comes next. The internalisation of news is an indication that the ramifications are at a personal level.
Another image, in dual tones of earthy red and blue, is of a young girl curled up on a footpath, her eyes conveying a sense of foreboding. A monochrome image shows a lad wrapped in a thick shawl, bare feet, poised against a wall. In each of these, the artist conveys the thoughts of her subjects through the eyes and then the body language. Through an image of a couple seated in a rickshaw, the artist brings our attention to gender issues. Titled ‘relationships’, the lithograph shows the man seated comfortably, while the woman is confined to a corner of the seat, with a sullen expression. There are images of comparatively happier people as well, seated in a drawing room, poring over a newspaper, and an elderly woman seated by the window of a train compartment.
Archana intersperses these people-centric works with that of a landscape, old temple doors with symbols, and an image of a chair. The chair is a simple but arresting work, making the viewer think about the elderly person who uses it, his/her lifestyle, reading habits and so on.
The artist liberally employs mark making technique to make her images definitive. A work that shows an ardent devotee, with a pierced tongue, is flanked by tiny images of people, made possible by mark making.
Mystical Musings, an exhibition of lithographs and paintings by Archana R Biswas, is on at Iconart gallery till January 10.
