There are both intensely personal works and works that are socially personal in the ongoing exhibition “Touchy Human” at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath.
The show features five artists — Abeer Ibrahim Shah, Arunava Mondal, Gourab Malakar, Jakir Hossen and Sudeep Mukherjee.
Abeer’s series of abstracts are purely forms of expression of her alternating states of inner peace and turmoil or joy and sorrow. This she expresses through the choice and use of colours and the manner of her strokes.
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The “Zoya” pair of paintings are a splash of deep blue, sea green and white with patches of red and yellow. Her “Nile Lily” or “Zahara”, inspired by the reflections in the Nile River, are made-up of agitated strokes of predominantly blue and white, while “Dewali Light Reflections” is made of surer, contained strokes of blue, yellow and green.
“I don’t plan my paintings. I simply choose the colours and play around with them. I don’t realize that I’m actually expressing my thoughts and feelings on something particular until I’ve finished. I put all my emotion into the movement of the knife or brush and white mixing the colours,” explains Abeer.
“Colours are my vocabulary. I say what I want to say in the strength of my colours, I can scream through my colours.”
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Jakir Hossen and Gourab Malakar paint landscapes.
While Jakir paints rural Indian landscapes, the daily lives of its inhabitants, Gourab paints cityscapes of Calcutta. He captures its people in their everyday journeys against the backdrop of its historical architecture, weaving in light and shadow, through his smooth brushstrokes.
“I was born and brought up in Calcutta, so whatever I see around me, in the daily life of the city, is what translates into my work. I also draw attention to the changing phase of the old city, which I think should not lose its heritage. I believe that one must never forget one’s past and one’s heritage,” says Gourab.
Meanwhile Arunava Mondal paints an imagined landscape made up of delicate pale flowers that seem to be submerged in a medium of colour that sometimes have a gentle gradation.
A woman sometimes features in this landscape which is dominated by the flower, framed or submerged in the medium of vivid colours: largely green, blue or red. But the attention still remains on the flower.
The exhibition also features works by Sudeep Mukherjee, who has displayed works in acrylic, watercolour and soft pastel. The most dominant among these are “Sacrifice”, where he paints bulls rushing toward a crucified Jesus Christ and his soft pastel all-black sketches of charging bulls.
“Touchy Human” will be on view at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Kumara Krupa Road, until January 13. For details, contact 22263424.