The glass door of Art Houz gallery is wide open. On the very left, is a painting with grey irregular circles on a white background. On moving further in, more and more circles, of different colours and different sizes, hit one. But each of these circles differ with respect to their surroundings. A few revisits later, it is understood that these circles speakvolumes.
Two recurring circles: a recent experiment of artist Gurunathan Govindan, which forms his solo exhibition, The Untitled Exhibition, is part of his research on abstraction. He intends to discover potential narratives that two circles can portray. The artist says he is curious to know how differently people will relate the circles to their surroundings. Gurunathan recalls his teacher, AP Santharaj, who used to encourage him to ‘begin with a dot’, eulogising the power of the smallest of the small circles.
His paintings are a reflection of his daily life and surroundings.
“Since they are free from rigid definitions, they are amenable to infinite interpretations,” Gurunathan says of the abstract nature of his work. He hopes that his endeavour will help him unravel the beauty of how our minds process. Speaking of the unusual title of the display, he continues, “If we give a title, an image is already fixed. Instead, my idea is to leave the doors open for multiple interpretations,” The series, which has been in the works for three-and-a-half years, was not inspired from one particular incident, according to the artist. It is a reflection of his daily life and surroundings.
In the welcoming piece, Gurunathan compares the artist in him to a small boy who enjoys making little sculptures on sand. Another work that occupies a large length of the wall, looks like a bottle of pink paint splashed over a sheet of canvas. Colours come naturally to Gurunathan. The process of choosing colours, is not a conscious process. But he agrees that colours like black and red, are sometimes consciously used for conveying powerful messages. Interestingly, most of his works retain the original colour of the canvas, while he uses glue as binder to the pigments.
Adding life, dimension and texture to his paintings are fragments of fabric, stuck here and there. “It’s a part of my life, so I use it,” he concludes.
The Untitled Exhibition is on display at Art Houz gallery, Sterling Road, till January 2.
