Walk into The Gallery Café at Kalakriti, Hyderabad, and the first thing that catches attention is the spectrum of colours from the paintings on display. The vermilion reds and turmeric yellows reflect the mood of the festive season.
The style of Mumbai-based artist Om Swami is different from that of the semi-realistic approach by Sivabalan from Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu. The commonality between them is their theme — Ganesha. Commissioned by the art gallery to do a special series for the Ganesh Chaturthi festive season, the artists set to work, drawing from the cultural ethos of their respective regions.
Titled ‘Sidhivinayak’, the series has been on display since August end and continues to be a talking point among the visitors to the gallery. “I have always loved bright colours because that’s what I saw in the villages near Kumbakonam and Salem, while growing up. Women in rural areas like to wear blouses in deep shades that are in contrast to the saris, unlike the more subtle hues we see in urban areas,” says Sivabalan.
He grew up in the temple town of Kumbakonam and recalls the sheer joy of watching elephants and sketching them in his school days. After completing his masters in fine arts from the Government Arts College in Kumbakonam, he has been depicting vignettes of his native culture for the last 20 years. “Now the elephants I paint help me earn a livelihood. I am happy that I can earn doing what I love the most — art,” he says.
His series of paintings on display, have the ability to give viewers a close-to-reality depiction of the temples with their brown-grey stone pillars and intricately carved stone statues, contrasted by deep red hibiscus flowers, vermilion, elephants decked up for festivities and devotees clad in bright attire. Sivabalan describes his style as “semi-realistic”.
The women appear realistic, with the sari drape and colours reflecting the semi-urban region. The artist remembers being in the vicinity of temples, observing the milieu and sketching during his college days. “Digital cameras have made it easier today,” he concedes, “I can take photographs, look at the minute details at leisure and then begin painting. This series was done in a little more than two months, with each painting taking up to 10 days.”
Colours of the land
Om Swami’s paintings incorporate calligraphy and slokas
Mumbai-based Om Swami portrays the different attributes of Ganesha through bold, fluid strokes in bright hues, both in his paintings and sculptures. Predominantly in blue, and offset by sunset hues of orange-yellow, his works are titled in Sanskrit — Niyay (justice), Gajay (elephant-headed God), Ameyay (pure, free of blemish) and Sumukha (denoting the auspicious). “The colours are a blend of bright and earthy tones that I see in my village near Vasai (Maharashtra),” says the artist. He has been painting Ganesha themes for the last 17 to 18 years, incorporating elements of calligraphy and slokas. A year and a half ago, he began making sculptures. “Metal didn’t give me the results I expected, fibreglass was more pliable and gave me good results,” he concludes.
The ‘Sidhivinayak’ series is curated by Ruchi Sharma and will be on view till October 4 at The Gallery Café, Road no.10, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad.
