One January, M. Babu went to Thirunangur in Nagapattinam to visit his periamma . Once there, he took in the sights of the village, known for its Garuda Seva. Pious looking men, old and young, and children walked towards the temple and Babu captured them all on camera. It took him just 10 days to create as many watercolour paintings — five in monotone and five in multi-colour.
Babu is among the six artists showcasing their works, figurative and abstract, in the seventh painting exhibition in the Silver Jubilee series of Kasthuri Sreenivasan Art Gallery.
M. Mani, who hails from Athoor near Salem, specialises in everyday scenes. In a village, a little girl sat on her hunches, drawing a kolam when Mani asked her to pose for a photograph. She turned her face, smiling widely, even as her hands got ready to draw the next line. She’s now the subject of a watercolour. His vibrant ‘Pallakku’ (palanquin) is thought provoking. “From the moment we are created, we are supported at every stage — the womb, the cradle, the earth, and finally the coffin. That’s the subject of this painting,” he explains.
P. Selvam loves abstracts. His acrylics on canvas attempt to capture ephemeral moments. In one work, a notepad is filled with scribbles. Above it is a drawing of a man afloat. “We think a lot, get confused and finally attain clarity. The drawing of a man is the clarity that follows the scribbles,” explains Selvam.
In ‘Freedom’, a little butterfly flies in the big blue sky. Below it is a hand with the imprint of the butterfly on two fingers. Someone attempted to catch it, but freedom beckoned. In another canvas, which he describes as the transition from figurative to abstract art, a tiny figure floats in the midst of splashes of colour, the last link to figurative art.
K. Panchanathan teaches in a village school. He has put together a collection of landscapes created from imagination and still life paintings. K. Manoj focusses on people — a lady wearing a blue sari and praying in a temple — and scenes from the beach. There’s the balloon stall on a windy beach, the sundal seller and more. V. Vimaleshwaran’s abstracts are on show too.
The exhibition is on till August 25. The works are priced from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 30,000. The show is open from 10 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. For details, call 0422-2574110.
