The festive season brings with it works by artisans depicting various gods and goddesses, and giving form to various folklore surrounding these occasions. Be it at a puja pandal or an art gallery, the creative expression is at its peak during this season.
Ojas Art, in its show titled “The Divine Deities,” has brought together more than 100 artworks, including paintings, oleographs, digital prints, sketches, drawings and watercolours by contemporary artists, as well as a rare collection of Raja Ravi Varma’s oleographs.
Curatorial director Anubhav Nath said he hand-picked artworks by four contemporary artists — Abhishek Singh, Harshavardhan Kadam, Keshav and Ujan Dutta — to showcase the divine.
“Imageries are organic and ever-changing. There is a certain playfulness that comes with changing imageries. It’s only with experimentation, and trial and error that something new emerges. Initially, Raja Ravi Varma was criticised for his images of Lakshmi and Saraswati, which went on to become the most identified images for the goddesses,” said Mr. Nath.
In the exhibition, Abhishek has presented his interpretations of Lord Shiva. His works, which were part of a public art project in 2014, are being shown in Delhi for the first time.
Harshvardhan showcases his imagery of the divine through his murals and digital works on Brahma-Vishnu-Mahesh and Lord Ganesha.
Keshav, a cartoonist by profession, has celebrated Lord Krishna. He posts one Lord Krishna artwork daily on the social media under the name “Krishna for Today”. Ujan Dutta, a graphic designer, is fascinated by the superhuman.
The exhibition is on till October 13 at Ojas Art, 1 AQ, Qutub Minar, Mehrauli.
