Seven artists meet in a show called ‘The seven a.m.’ (seven artist’s meet), on at Eka Art Gallery in Fort Kochi. No common thread binds the group show, allowing each artist wide amplitude to express and interpret freely. This freedom results in a variety that is a veritable feast for the viewer.
Ajith K. A.’s black, white and grey canvases are striking and reflective. Ajith has done his BFA from the College of Fine Arts, Thiruvananthapuram and higher art studies from Baroda. He has shown at various national and international venues. His six works, two large and four small, are images that tell a story simply. The carefree holiday spirit is found in images of a mug of beer or in an empty bottle or in a lazy smoke, in works titled ‘Holiday 1 and 2’. The technique used in the works is frottage which is created by rubbing charcoal over paper placed on a certain surface.
The ‘Ladder Beside’ and ‘Pomegranate’ done in charcoal are bigger canvases. ‘Pomegranate’ has images of kitchen scissor and knives, all in shades of black and gray, with a striking blood-red pomegranate. Mathai K.T. from RLV College of Music and Fine Arts, Tripunithura, has three colourful untitled works that tell the story of characters in the circus. The clowns carry a fixed smile, happy or sad, and wear elfin caps. In one work they trapeze and twirl, jump and gyrate, the canvas depicting the motion.
V.B. Venu’s ‘Mask Seller’ series is in watercolours. The three works question the masked colonisation underway in many countries. Venu uses the medium deftly with a control acquired from years of experience and from that of being an art teacher.
In the work called ‘Is Democracy a Milch Cow’, he delves into deep thought and questions the misuse of democracy. His two works in charcoal are thought provoking. ‘Buddha on a Bed of Nails’ is about tenuous balance of peace, Buddha symbolising peace.
‘Gandhi in Between’ is inspired by the famous photograph of Gandhi between his two nieces. The artist replaces the nieces with plausible images of icons of two faiths perhaps hoping for inter-faith unity.
‘Superbrand’ by Sreelal K.S., oil on canvas triptych, raises the issue of marketing brand Gandhi - the casual and rather vanilla display of Gandhi on tees or on crockery. Is the marketing alleviating the greatness of the figure or is it reaching out to the younger generation? The artist leaves the interpretation open to debate.
Delhi-based, Oriya artist, Birendra Pani presents ‘Revisiting Cambodia,’ a visually striking canvas. With colourful images from the land, he presents a tranquil side of Cambodia.
Robert Lopez’s ‘ecoscape’ is not the typical landscape. Done in acrylic on canvas the floralscape, bright and beautiful, harbours the green message gently.
Mukesh Sharma has three canvases with modern images of roller skates, football, wheels, shoes, of life on the go. Done in modern, cut-and-paste style, the works are eye-catching, youthful and contemporary. The show is on till January 6.
