The group exhibition at Artworld captures many moods. The themes come startlingly clear in every canvas — from the black and white dreams of Sudipto Tiwary to the gradient mornings of R.S. Shakya's work.
Tiwary's charcoal portrait of a woman sitting by a river at first glance appears rather simple. Dressed in black, she sits on a cane chair, eyes closed, lost in an endless dream while calm waters flow in the background. The next painting goes into details; three panels with six busts, each showing a different emotion, a different perspective. She is aware of her dreams while the soft petals of bell flowers and lilies float in her reverie. In one panel she is seen with her hand raised in a dance movement, a happy sign. But the one in the middle continues to sport a calm silence.
Myth and mystery
In Alphonso Dass's portrait of Krishna he is outlined in a shade of coffee brown and is playing the flute as he blends into the more vibrant orange, yellow, red and green in the background. It seems to say that he will be everywhere, in everything.
Bijan Chowdhury's painting of Savitri praying for her Satyavan, with his corpse on her lap also brings alive other details such as the banyan tree, the temple in its shade and the women in saris praying along with Savithri.
The kaleidoscopic dancing cow seems like G. Raman's depiction of festivity with Indian colours and kolam borders dominate the canvas.
Niren Sengupta's paintings have human forms with no identity — except for a mischievous gleam in their eyes. One holds a pigeon while another offers a blooming lily.
In the soothing midnight blues of Krishnendu Porel's painting are a cracked half-moon shining in the background, its blue light falling on the profile of an adolescent girl with pigtails and pubescent breasts. Holy ash is smeared across her forehead and arms. The ‘Om' pendant that hangs from her necklace gleams against the light.
Happy dreams like the ones in Owl City's songs describe Sujatha Goverdan's paintings best. The trees are a butter cream yellow or pista green with tendrils swirling down, the animals are grazing and a lively brown (deer) or yellow (giraffes). There are masked tribal men with weapons at the other end of the painting, who're most probably trying to destruct the peace but there is a pit in between, keeping them at bay.
Asma Menon's paintings are opulent. The patterned tree trunks rise up into detailed leaves, some pink and some a rich green which then rise into a blue sky. Viswanathan's contemporary paintings have red squares and rectangles merging into each other. They are ever changing and evolving like a city.
Liquid dreams
Swapan Palley's maidens look down demurely. Their clothes are like liquid dreams, where the colours are mere splashes that run into each other. They look identical but could be mirror images or alter egos.
Jyotirmoy De brings out interesting messages about Nature in his art.
There are insects and birds and wide-eyed tigers that occupy a single flower or a leaf. The details are astounding, right from the veins of the leaf to the expressions that each bird/insect wears.
The lovely, gradient shades of R.S. Shakya's paintings depict the Himalayas in their morning best. A mist perennially floats around, giving a surreal feel to the entire landscape while little people seem insignificant against the regal backdrops.
The colours that are singular shades of pink, green and golden yellow highlight every leaf, plant, tree and the shimmering waters.
The exhibition is on till May 30 at Artworld, Sarala 1/12 Ganeshpuram 3rd Street, Off Cenotaph Road.
