The art of printmaking to the fore: Art exhibition in Delhi

The exhibition ‘Of Divergent Practices: The Trajectory of Printmaking’ showcases works of art done through different techniques of printmaking.  

April 14, 2023 01:02 pm | Updated 01:02 pm IST

Reflections by Dattatraya Apte

Reflections by Dattatraya Apte

As four artists – Anandamoy Banerjee, Dattatraya Apte, Kavita Nayar and Sushanta Guha - sit in the Dhoomimal Art Gallery, the camaraderie between them is evident. “One of the reasons I enjoy printmaking is because of these people who I have been working with for 40 years,” says Anandamoy.  

Unlike painters who mostly work in isolation, printmakers work in the community – they help others and also get help for themselves. Printmaking is a form of art involving the transfer of images from a matrix (wooden, metallic or glass) onto another surface, most often paper or fabric. There are broadly five techniques in printmaking - intaglio, relief, plenography, stencil and digitography. 

The exhibition ‘Of Divergent Practices: The Trajectory of Printmaking’ showcases works of art done through these different techniques of printmaking.

What catches the eye are numerical values such as 6/15, 10/10 etc on the paintings, indicating that it is the 6th copy out of a total of 15 or the 10th copy out of a total of 10. This is one of the ways to identify a painting as a printed piece of art. Even though all the impressions are made through the exact same matrix, minor differences are inevitable.

When asked what motivates them to continue doing this form of art, Kavita says “It is adventurous because the end result is always surprising – sometimes it disappoints while at other times it elevates.“ Anandamoy adds, “Surface vibration is the character of printmaking. The process might be very physical, but the charm is very interesting.” 

The artists are undeterred by the fact that printmaking is not as commercially successful as other forms of art but they hope it will be one day. Moreover, they would also like to see printmaking get the autonomous status. 

An important point of debate when it comes to printmaking is that multiplicity leads to a loss of uniqueness. “It is all about the mindset,” says Anandamoy. “If one can accept edition sarees, why not edition art? If we see the edition number at the end of the newspaper then why can’t we see it on a piece of art? An attitude of sharing needs to be developed in society. One has to accept art as gold,” adds Dattatraya. 

At Dhoomimal Art Gallery, Connaught Place, till April 25.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.