VIJAYAWADA: Artist Poluru Sridhar is experiencing mixed feelings. He is both excited and nervous about the imminent international art auction scheduled to take place in Italy on December 3.
“I have taken part in auctions earlier but this one is special because I am the only artist from India representing the country,” he told The Hindu , informing that 86 foreign artists from 25 countries in four continents, besides over 250 local artists, are taking part in the art auction.
A native of Bhatiprolu in the Repalle taluk of Guntur district, Mr. Sridhar exhibited a creative streak as a school-going kid. While pursuing B. Sc. from the Acharya Nagarjuna University, he realised that more than the lessons, he enjoyed drawing diagrams.
“I then decided to master the nuances of painting and joined the fine arts course in Andhra University where I secured first rank,” he says. He then went to Kanoria Centre for Arts in Ahmedabad and worked for two years.
Mr. Sridhar hosted his first solo art show in 2000 and has so far, 15 solo and 25 group shows to his credit. “My paintings have been exhibited in places across the country and internationally in Singapore, Malaysia and UK. I have also participated in a number of art auctions,” he says.
Mr. Sridhar’s art tells a story. The artist uses the power of the visual image to ignite imaginations, evoke emotions and capture universal cultural truths and aspirations.
‘Karma Bhoomi’ reads an eye-catching title of a series of paintings that depict how the rapid pace of globalisation and modernisation is pushing on the backburner significant aspects like cultural moorings and our rich heritage.
The canvas has on it bar codes that denote the increasing influence of globalisation on Indian culture and Kamadhenu depicted as a winged cow.
“According to the Hindu mythology, Kamadhenu is a wish-fulfilling cow but even this cow is not spared the effects of detrimental changes happening around,” he says.
Ask him what’s the USP of his art and pat comes the reply: “I try to bring in diversity and uniqueness in my work by using various kinds of media and working on different themes. My painting series on themes such as Rhythm of Life I, II, III; Girl child; Jagruti [an awakening power]; Mythological elements [Kamadhenu; Kalpavruksh; Iravat; The Lotus] and Motherhood have widely been appreciated.”
