What is most striking about Charita Dasappa’s series of paintings, titled Brahmanda: From the Eternal to the Ephemeral, is the blend of the abstract and the figurative.
Her paintings, each of which explores a particular theme, contain a message that is quite easily conveyed by the figure composed entirely of strokes or curves. While the abstraction in the work sets the context, or the field of emotion or thought, from which that message seems to express itself.
In one of the signature pieces in the exhibition, titled ‘Elephantine Universe’, Charita paints an elephant emerging from a grey space, set against a yellow backdrop. She says the painting is composed entirely of curves to represent the curvy composition of the universe, which the elephant, too, represents. The colour yellow, also coincides with the colour that is typically associated with the Indian deity Ganesha, whom the elephant also symbolises.
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“According to me, the series is about the universe, and life as I see it. I have depicted various aspects of this life, according to my understanding, which I call ephemeral,” says the 50-year old artist who has studied mass communication in India and graphic design in the US.
The other concepts and manifestations of the universe that Charita explores in her work range from evolution in ‘Brush with Destiny’ that depicts an ape that seems to question whether humans have really evolved or blossomed in their human-ness; to ‘Moh’ that explores the fragile nature of relationships and attachments; the idea of materialism in ‘Mind over Matter’; the significance of the ‘Microcosm’ in maintaining the balance in nature; and the nature of ego, where the elephant makes a reappearance in a different context, in ‘Cosmic Proportions’.
“In my paintings, I have used colour and imagery to explain what I am trying to say. In ‘Moh’, for instance, the colour red represents danger. I have used acrylic paint, which is not my usual medium, on woodboard, with a palette knife. I like the texture of the woodboard and I used a palette knife because I feel it allows me to be a little more aggressive. The abstract figurative style, however, has always been my genre.”
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Charita feels this style enables the viewer to discern the message or the emotion more clearly.
“It is a nice feeling to get your thoughts out, rather than keep it all inside. Artists usually love solitude, it feels good to put your feelings and emotions out there, otherwise it is bottled up.”
The exhibition is on view at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Kumara Krupa Road, until December 9. For details, call 9845946953.