Splashes of red, black, yellow and green greet you on entering The Crimson Art Gallery. “A Twist In The Tail”, an exhibition of a collection of paintings, installations and sculptures, examines man's relationship with Nature in a precarious urban set-up, using animal motifs.
Let me take you on a virtual tour of the exhibition, curated by Giridhar Khasnis. The images express how 12 young artists from small towns and villages, now settled in Bangalore, view the cityscape. Let's start with Sunil Lohar's “Who am I” series. Three abstract paintings in acrylic urge the viewer to stop and examine her or his inner life. Have we, in the pulls and strains of modern life, lost touch with our inner selves? Has our consciousness been blunted by our mindless consumerism? Now, let's move onto Varnasindhu's paintings. The one titled “Co-existence” attracts. Within the windows of what appears to be a mansion, are drawn birds, seated in rows. And below are lined swanky cars. It depicts man's tenuous connection with Nature. Next we take a look at Sayam Bharath Yadav's, Praveen Kumar's and Shivanand B's works of mixed media and acrylic. Venugopal V.G.'s paintings are a commentary on Bangalore's development that is aggressive, yet unstable.
Rani Rekha's work “Re-incarnation” is an amalgamation of abstract and realistic concepts that examine Bangalore's precarious development. Close to her work are a couple of Ganapati Hegde's paintings. Look at that large painting. Amidst a profusion of leaves, branches and flowers, is a throbbing heart, human in its basic features, but its valves and arteries are branches.
On the far end are Urmila V.G.'s paintings of animal motifs, created with unique media of acrylic and ink on wood.
Look at those realistic sculptures in ceramic. They are Vijay Kumar C.S.'s creation. These untitled works have a special feel to them.
They can be interpreted in different ways. Those fibre glass sculptures by Anand Kumar N. are interesting. Madhu D. uses mixed media on acid-free paper. Her series, titled “Metamorphosis”, is an exercise in contemporary art. Just when you think that you can't enough of unique displays, a row of pretty gift bags intrigue you. They are Urmila V.G.'s installations of toys, animal figures, neatly gift wrapped.
“A Twist In The Tail” is on display till April 30 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. All the works are on sale.
The Crimson Art Gallery is at Hatworks Boulevard, Cunningham Road. Call: 22342634
