Visakhapatnam-based artist V Ramesh’s new body of work — a series on still life — carries a strong emotional resonance.
The artist’s new works are being showcased at his solo exhibition titled ‘The Pandemic Still Life’ at Threshold Art Gallery in New Delhi. In the current exhibition, he has connected mankind through a oneness of human experience and existence.
Known for the intensity of his figurative work, Ramesh loves to juxtapose that which is alive with that which is deteriorated, showing the impermanence of the body.
One piece shows the bright yellow canvas of wilted flowers in a vase; the other with dried lifeless flowers surrounding a bright orange flower placed in a jar — showcasing stark contrasts. An uncanny amalgamation of abstraction and realism can be seen. The artist, who has displayed his art across the world, says that his immediate surroundings and experiences find a way onto the canvas. According to him, the lockdown and solitude helped him to reflect within. “The pandemic period has triggered an intensive yet spontaneous quest within me, to retrace my artistic journey afresh by using watercolours and gouache,” says Ramesh.
Ramesh was a faculty at the Department of Fine Arts, Andhra University, since 1985. He holds an Masters degree in Fine Arts from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Baroda. He was awarded the Sanskriti Award in 1993 and Senior Fellowship from Department of Culture in 1995-97.
In his work, Ramesh looks for transparency: for the ability to look through a membrane of a vessel and see the world in its interior. His water colours allow the viewer to do just that — look through something that is impermeable. He says, “Working in this series has been a liberating experience for me.”
The exhibition will be on till October 16.
