The Enchanting World of Yusuf's Art | 20th Oct - 12th Nov 2024 at Juneja Art Gallery, Jaipur

The Enchanting World of Yusuf's Art

20th Oct - 12th Nov  2024 at Juneja Art Gallery, Jaipur

147th Show by Artchill

Yusuf's creations are an intricate dance of sensory and emotional depth, seamlessly blending perceptions and realities with a metaphysical openness that invites endless exploration. Each piece is a unique voyage, traversing the landscapes of memories and sensuous experiences, all while maintaining a remarkable 'lightness of being'. This lightness belies the substantial 'load' of life that his works carry.

The serene and buoyant atmosphere, rendered through subtle gray tones and vibrant colors, invites viewers into a tranquil yet dynamic world. Yusuf's lines flow effortlessly like veins through rock, yet they can twist, break, and splinter, imbuing his works with a poignant and captivating quality. These lines often rise and fall in gentle undulations, coalescing into amorphous forms teeming with life, inviting contemplation on the essence of existence.

The curves, crevices, and cavernous depths of Yusuf's lines invite a deep reflection on the nature of being. Even the broken lines and bold patches of color engage in a profound dialogue, creating a narrative that is both sublime and compelling. His works possess a mellifluous quality, drawing viewers into a magnetic sphere rich with intent and substance. 

Renowned painter and art thinker J. Swaminathan once observed of Yusuf's lines:

"These drawings are self-contained entities of their own. They reveal a world of meaning to us not contained in our lexicon. Yet, our senses apprehend them. We are able to sense them without being able to pigeonhole them. Herein lies the magic of the drawings of Yusuf."

This magic extends to his paintings as well, which could make them an essential part of any artistic discourse.

The Ethereal Elegance of Yusuf’s Sculptures

'Kalpvraksh'

In Yusuf's oeuvre, his uniquely crafted sculptures too stand out. These pieces, suggestive of the relationship between man and machine, eloquently address the modern human predicament—how to live with machines. Almost in a state of flight, the sculptures possess a certain grace, and their presence is enchanting. They remind us of how we are bound to live with machines, providing comfort yet also causing discomfort. At times, we wish to free ourselves from their clutches, yet we remain tethered. One might also recall the superb film by Charlie Chaplin, Modern Times, which explores a similar  dilemma. But let’s return to where it all began for Yusuf.

One day, Yusuf saw a photograph in a newspaper of a man carrying a sewing machine on his shoulder, waddling through rising floodwaters, trying to save the machine. In the photograph, the man's head and the machine’s head appeared almost fused together.

'Yakshini-2'

Yusuf was moved by this portrayal—a man and his machine united in a single moment. Coming from a family of master tailors, he was naturally drawn to the scene, having been familiar with sewing machines since childhood. Later, he learnt that the photograph was taken by photographer Steve McCurry as part of his monsoon series from India and abroad. The photograph fired Yusuf's imagination, and the result was a series of sculptures done with various materials. The series continues with ever-changing, appealing imagery, consisting of faces both ordinary and divine, with many components from nature.

One of the figures, with a predominant blue shade, exudes a distinct charm. The ornate, bead-studded headpiece, earrings and wings convey a certain regal and divine essence. Interestingly, the machine here does not have a dreary and dull presence. Rather, the relationship shown is symbiotic, almost idyllic, evoking a sense of abundance, power and a certain shimmering sacred splendor. The face has a rather calm and introspective expression, unfolding its wings in a sort of spiritual ascent, with the radiance of a deity but with the framework of a device.

'Devi' 

The textural feel of the sculptures is powerfully executed. As with his paintings, the painstakingly intricate details of the sculptures are crafted with love and care, offering a seminal visual delight. The subtlety with which the man’s desire to see beauty in machines is conveyed is astonishing.

Whether we choose a flight from the machine or a flight with it, we find ourselves on the brink of transformation. In whatever way we look at these amazingly done “bodies,” we tend to appreciate them for their elegance, charm, and integrity which leave us with a sense of awe and admiration.

Prayag Shukla

Poet & Art Critic, New Delhi

_____________________________________________________________________

My Lines

When a point moves, a line is drawn. In my art the line plays a very important role. When I picturise the group of lines as a basic element, a strange happening occurs. Many lines emanate from this indivisible point, which then give birth to innumerable unrecorded lines. So, when I draw one single line I am actually creating two of them – positive and negative. The white lines between two drawn black lines is not purely space that has been left out. It is actually a deliberate effort. They also form to my line drawings, the same way as the black lines do. The two combine to produce a sensuousness which breathes life into my lines and gives them dynamism and mobility.

'The Served Man'

For me the line is a living unit, full of limitless possibilities I believe that when an artist creates a shape using the line, then it is the line that gives it a definite shape, then ending all other possibilities. That is why in my line drawings you do not see shape of any natural thing – my group of lines is full of possibilities capable of being taken anywhere. My creations are not created through extraneous lines. Infact they are a group of innumerable lines which can be increased or drawn in any direction. And so my line drawings have their origins from the lines, their space and form is always basic where the innermost values remain the same and where the possibilities are endless.

Yusuf

'Oh Krishna' 146th Art Show at Juneja Art Gallery, Jaipur

 Juneja Art Gallery is presenting its 146^th Art Show Celebrating Lord Krishna , this Janmashtami .

​40 Paintings in different stylization by 14 artists on Aura of Krishna are exhibited in this show, by seniors artists like PN CHOYAL, SHAIL CHOYAL, MANAS RANJAN JENA, ASHOK HAZRA , DEEPIKA HAZRA, ANAND PANACHAL , SURJIT AKRE, Late KL VERMA , KAILASH CHANDRA VERMA, Late RK YADAV SUBRATA DAS , AKASH CHOYAL with emerging artists like Hita hari das Vaishnav. ​

Shail Choyal :  A painter, printmaker and a teacher, Shail Choyal is known for a distinctive miniature style of his own through which he has carved a niche for himself in the Contemporary Art scene in the country. He infuses his works in the narrative idiom and also juxtaposes the allegorical with the real. Exploiting the inherent aesthetic motifs and the multi tier division of space of Rajasthani traditional painting, he has evolved a nostalgic art with an utmost modern sensibility. Vibrant colors and surreal settings add mystery to his paintings.

 ‘City of Udaipur, with its glorious ancient Rajput architecture, lakes, hills, gardens and robust people with brilliant colors have always been my prime concern. Rigid angular form in horizontal and vertical lines punctuated with curvilinear motifs of doors, windows, still bluer lakes, domes and turrets all fill me with strong sense of nostalgia. For years, I exploited the visual references of my lovely city to project my own personal world that has been mystical and real as well. In these works, I am trying to project a dramatic tension through juxtaposition of the allegorical with the real and to attain ethereal fantasy. I shall go on fathoming the aesthetic treasures yet unearthed’                             

Manash Ranjan Jena is a renowned visual artist based in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha. Manash, born in 1968 in a small village of Mayurbhanj district of rural Odisha, was educated at Bhubaneswar based B.K. College of art. 

Deepika  Hazra

On the fringes of the cities of Rajasthan are clusters of villages where life is in complete contrast to the stressful, materialistic world of today. It is a world cradled in the harmony with nature, a world rich in traditions, folklores and joy. It is a world full of the magical sound of the birds, the amazing sight of the herds of cows, the beautiful and graceful peacocks, the brilliant colors of the flowering trees in full bloom, and the rustic beauty of the women folk at their daily chores, clad in the most colorful clothes.

This series of paintings by my mother, who was born and brought up in Rajasthan, is a tribute to the beauty, simplicity , the peace and the innocent pleasures of these women living in the remote villages far from the maddening crowd.

Madhabihazra

'Affirming IDENTITIES' | 05th - 18th March 2023 at Juneja Art Gallery, Jaipur

Surjit Akre is a significant name in the contemporary art scenario of our country. She has remained sincere and prolific in her art for over 45 years now, having undergone the rigorous training program in Fine Arts between 1978 and 1985 from the then Soviet Union, from The Repin Institute of Art. With her superb ability over line, form, light and shade Surjit does her alma mater proud. Women artists through their art, frequently explore their social confinement and subordination to men. In effect, their art tends to become not only biographical but also vehicles of social criticism. In this respect Surjit’s quiet and serene temperament is extended into her work. What clearly runs through her works almost unfailingly is a sense of longing for love, understanding and companionship. A lot of her compositions therefore have a wistful aura.

Transiting between dream and reality her works are nevertheless completed rather than empty rounds of her subject matter. Her smooth flowing lines, lyrical forms and vivid coloring, emerge from different backgrounds, open and bright, dark and brooding, or again smooth or sometimes heavily textured. Discernible also are her compositions influenced by traditional Indian paintings, replete with vibrant colors, small motif like elements, flat colors and beautiful organization. Though women as a concern remains central to her, she also feels deeply on other issues like poverty, the injustice of fate & the traumas of partition of India. So pathos and irony run side-by- side in her canvasses, but only after dreams, romance, frustration, and the longing for respite to live and work peacefully.                     
Aruna Bhowmick, New Delhi.

  

The Feminine Touch

Surjit Akre is one of the artists who extensively dwells on the situation of the female - her desires, ambitions, dreams, aspirations, moods, engagements and her leisure moments. Romanticism too touches the heart of her art occasionally and these are very effective, endearing compositions she has created. Such works, when presented in her color spectrum, enthrall the audience. A pining woman in her work titled "The Passion" where time is running out like galloping horse; a woman seated on a bed of thorns with a dozen masks hanging behind her simply present the current problem , as to what mask to choose in order to mitigate the situation. "Flowers and thorns" & "Moonlight" were some of her earlier works in oils that highlighted the tensions and contradictions faced by the female in her journey through life’s tricky lanes.

R.S. Yadav, New Delhi

  

Art is my patience. I interpret the life of general people in my paintings, their Love, anger, struggle for life, dreams, suffering & all happenings in life. I also paint autobiographical paintings. The main medium which i love is oil on canvas because it is durable & i can also try different textures in this medium. I also love to do pencil, charcoal and drawings on paper. I have developed my own style, which took several years of practice & experience. When I see my art i feel that life is so beautiful, yet complicated & deep because my paintings are the mirror of life. I depict life as i feel, and every painting shows different aspects of life, which is also felt by the viewers. Since the Post-graduation in 1986, from the prestigious Academy of Arts, Repin Institute of paintings, Sculpture & Architecture at Saint Petersburg, Russia, i have done over 6000 paintings on different series like Mother & Child, Wm; Peace, Shringar, Desire, Prakriti, Terrorism, Literacy, Man & Animal, Family, Knowledge is power, and on many other varied subjects.

 

Surjit Akre's paintings are self expressive

"The human body is the most beautiful of God's creations which is why the human form has played an important role in all my paintings", says Surjit Akre, renowned artist of National & International fame. Love plays a predominant role for most artists. Surjit's work also predominantly focuses on love and the traditional form of emotions as is clear in all her exhibitions till date. While focusing on love it is not only the love between man & woman but also between mother & child that she seems to have explored rather deeply. Nationally and Internationally awarded Surjit Akre believes that having lived in the Soviet Union for a long period her paintings were heavily influenced by the existing social realism. To be able to realize her true identity and style she decided to come back to her own country. She slowly graduated from the earthy colors of the Soviet style to the bright and vibrant colors of India mainly, red, yellow and blue.  In her formative years as a painter 1986 to 88 she must have made 50 paintings namely- Behind the red wall, Literacy., Tribal girls, Bleaching clothes, Vegetable seller, Family of fruit seller, Evening, Talk of mothers etc. For her thesis project she submitted her painting titled 11Adult education" which is still on display at Repin Institute at St. Petersburg, giving testimony to her work. Surjit Akre is the only Asian student who completed 7 years at this renowned institute till date. For a number of years Surjit has been associated with the RCSC (Russian Center of Science & Culture). She is also the founder member and President of Inda-Russian Art Club.

Her initial works were influenced by Amrita Shergill's style but by 1989 to 94 there was a distinctive shift in technique. In this phase she made about 150 paintings which were different in theme and style and colors bearing titles like - We need peace, We also want to live, Red bird & unhappy man, Woman with unfilled garland, Dream of the earth, From my childhood, Mother 20th century etc. With the passage of time and evolution in her style came a certain maturity. From 1995 to 99 she used a single theme for a number of paintings thereby making a series on Holy city, Mother; Hunger, Mama I miss you, Shelter, God today, Man & Animal, Shringar, Family, Knowledge is Power, War & Peace, Spring etc. In her series about Hunger she has depicted 3 types of hunger - Hunger for food, hunger for love and hunger for knowledge. There is focusing on the main subject and unwanted detailing is done away with. From 2000 to 2004 she used the basic colors without mixing of white to create artworks an Prose of sand dunes, Prakriti, Mother& Child, The Blue God, Dances of Shiva, Dream of unswerving love, No to global terrorism etc.  She is expressing her own emotions and feelings through the various forms of woman in her paintings. Surjit says that her woman is usually depicted as sad, even when portrayed in Shringar Ras she is suffering the pangs of separation, loneliness and dejection. She feels that in her portrayal of womanhood she uses contrasting moods and facets. The important "roop" of woman is motherhood. No sacrifice is too great for her to protect her child and home from harm. In 2001 in her series Prakriti she has portrayed woman as representative of nature because even in our epics, woman is described as being akin to nature. But Surjit also depicts other subjects close to her heart namely terrorism, social ills, violence, hunger, poverty etc. Terrorism is depicted through "Shiv Tandav" where an enraged Shiva is dancing on skulls, the dance of death. In the same way she has depicted the dark days of Punjab and the 1984 Blue star operation in her work entitled "Past Memories". The incidents of those days had a strong impact on her when she saw people with fear in their eyes and the destruction of the temple. The violence of those days is depicted so realistically that she was awarded Rashtrapati Silver Medal and M.S. Randhawa memorial cash award.

For a person who is widely traveled both in India and abroad Surjit transforms into a little girl when reminiscing about Taran Tarn the village she was born in during the S0s. She remembers her joyous childhood at the hands of her grandmother, the fresh smell of the earth, the early morning baths in the stream, the fresh cool air, the endless amount of mangoes which she got to eat thanks to being the only child living with her grandmother. These precious moments have been captured in her series "From my Childhood".

In today's time Surjit finds that the foundation of family relationships is crumbling. She feels that this is due to the insane pursuit of wealth at any cost by every individual. All forms of material comfort are being pursued, but only for the self, ignoring even the elders of the family. Whereas earlier the elders were the foundation of the family, the thread that held the whole family together, today that same elder is a burden to the family and society. This is very unjust she feels, elders should be given their due which will hold the entire family together, like an old shady tree that encompasses the others with the shade of its branches and holds everything together with its roots. This negative effect of the blind pursuit of wealth at any cost is what she is busy portraying on her canvas these days.

Surjit feels that this insane pursuit of wealth has permeated into the psyche of the painter also. Today's artist is hell bent upon creating a painting that will adorn somebody's living room and forgets the objectivity and honesty of his art and talent. Great artists did not compromise their talent or their art and despite great odds of poverty and despair never gave up. All this materialism pains her a lot.

Dr. Jasvinder Kaur Bindra

  

Surjit Akre was born in 1954 in Taran Tarn, Punjab, India. She is the first Indian artist who has achieved a post graduate degree in easel painting, faculty of Fine Arts from Russia, Academy of Fine Arts, Repin Institute of Painting, Sculpture & Architecture. A Professional artist to the core, she has served on different juries & won several awards and Honours including senior and junior fellowships for outstanding artist from the Govt. of India, Ministry of H.R.D, Dept. of Culture, New Delhi from 1989-1991 and 1996-1998, AIFACS President of India's silver plaque and Dr. M.S. Randhawa memorial cash award in 1990; In 1987 Sahitya Kala Parishad award. In 1985 she was awarded and highly commended at the annual post graduate works exhibition in St. Petersburg, Russia. In 2008 she was awarded Friendship Medal from the Russian Center for Scientific and Cultural Cooperation under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Moscow, Russia. In 2008, Silver Medal for Generosity by the Institute of Art named after K.A. Savitski, Russia. Honour award for the contribution Inda-Russian Friendship by the Mayor of Penza city, Russia. Awarded International Award in 2017, named after Nikolai Roerich in nomination artistic creativity in Visual Art, by the Government of Russia. She has held 71 Solo Exhibitions in India, Russia, U.S.A, Canada and participated in several major exhibitions, and Artists camps at National and International level. She is the founder of Roerich's Art Society, affiliated with the Russian Cultural Center, New Delhi. From 1986 to 2018 she has organised and curated exhibitions of Indian and Russian artists. Her works are in many private collections all over the world and also with many Govt. Organizations, various Art Organisations and in several Museums in India & Abroad.

 

Juneja Art Gallery founded in 1994 by Sangeeta Juneja, is now one of the biggest Modern and Contemporary Art Galleries in India with a space of over 6000 sq ft. The Gallery has so far sponsored 144 art shows under its brand name Artchill, which showcases diverse palette of creative and multimedia art by the best of Indian artists, from well-known, established, award winning artists to the young, promising names of our Contemporary World, each having a distinct artistic attitude. So today Artchill is a place for both the well-established as well as emerging artists with a brilliant performance. The extensive collection consists of Paintings, Sculptures, Reliefs, Graphics, Photo Art and Multimedia Art which can be viewed anytime by appointment apart from the current shows.

Artchill has also showcased Indian Art in various International Art Events.

Sangeeta Juneja is also a consultant and she advises Indian & overseas Collectors to create their art portfolios.

Fractional WHOLE | Opening 5 pm , Sunday, 16th Oct 2022

 Diverse visual narrations bound by creative expressions

Opening 5 pm , Sunday, 16th Oct 2022

 

Indian Art scene is witnessing and embracing universal changes in this age of socio-political flux. Art is no more a regional phenomenon, as has been the case of different schools of thoughts that once persisted to reflect the essence of any land. The age of awareness and information has captured the human mind to be more politically aware and socially active than before. But still there are artists who have preserved the sanctity of their original skill irrespective of any influences. Contemporary readers, art lovers & viewers are more willing than their counterparts thirty years ago to appreciate works that resist tightly defined analytical categories.  

For the last 28 years, Artchill has curated and conceptualized art shows that highlighted diverse art forms like paintings, sculptures, reliefs, installations, caricatures & art photography in its galleries based in Jaipur and art fairs across the world. This is the 143^rd art show sponsored by the Gallery since the time it was established in 1994. The gallery focusses on the creative expressions by brilliant artists & emphasizes on the powerful and innovative presentation of their artistic abilities thus providing a unique & thought-provoking art Experience for all the viewers and visitors.

 

‘Fractional Whole’ takes you through diverse forms of endlessness and continuity within a wide range of practices. It can be a state of mind, a gesture, an incident, an act, a behavior or a response to any stimuli - all have a movement that could be either linear and directional, cyclical or temporal. There is a play of presence, absence and the infinite in-between states, not necessarily in its physicality but also in varied intangible forms. Everything appears static as an image and yet beholds movement, referring to a realm of formalistic, aesthetic, philosophical, psychological, socio-political & cultural contexts.  

Artists persistently breathe & pour out their unresolved tensions, moral issues, curiosities or their angst. This current show at Juneja Art Gallery, surveys a body of work that leaves itself incisively open, somewhere between being created and wholly complete. The works are bold and powerful and carry a story to narrate & echo the trials and tribulations of observations they all ponder over in the everyday idiom of lifestyles and experiences. Nature offers them pictorial and aesthetic beauty and inspires them with images and ideas. These artists never lose focus as they glide over their energy, deftly using elements of abstraction, distortion and simplification to create an alternative world on canvass. 

Diverse & mind-boggling works take the viewer into the journey of a Fractional Whole, speaking of the inner and outer worlds. It could be satirical, esoteric, psychological, innocent, spiritual, dreamy or surrealistic...many such deeper emotions that we could relate to or connect with. Each of these artists create intimate glimpses of uncanny worlds and mindscapes suffused with an atmosphere of the unknown. Processes and the possibility of instability, openness, and perpetual transformation underlie the creation and understanding of all the exhibited works.  

There is striking evidence of great strength and skill in organizing forms and colors and creating the effect of enchantment and fantasy : to create vitality & dynamism in an animate mass is a difficult proposition. It takes courage and tenacity as artists explore an addictive idiom, reflecting in some ways the conditions of artistic practices within the broader domain of expressive culture. It surely directs its critical and affirmative energies towards an ongoing engagement with the dominant certitudes of its era. The works then operate in a lattice of interfaces between belonging and being, open to influences both local and global, the skill of training and the color of contemporaneity. 

When we see these fractional windows that artists open for us, or fragmentation in its unity we are able to see the larger Whole, in its Totality. 

Compiled & Curated by Sangeeta Juneja

Opening 5 pm , Sunday, 16th Oct 2022.

On view till 16th Dec 2022.

Juneja Art Gallery, C - 34, 36, Road 1, Bais Godown, Jaipur.

Abbas Batliwala Akash Choyal Akbar Padamsee Amit Kalla Anjani Reddy Arpana  Caur   Asit  Kumar Patnaik Baalaa  R.   Barry Wilson  Chirayu Kumar Sinha Deepak  Khandelwal Dharmendra Rathore Dhiraj Singh Dileep Sharma Dipika Hazra Ganesh Kushwah Ganga Singh Gobardhan  Ash Gourishankar  Soni Ingrid Pitzer Jagdish Chander  Jai  Zharothia Jimmy  Chishi Kanchan Chander Kashmiri Khosa Khetanchi Kiran Murdia Kishan Meena L. N. Naga Laxma Gaud Madan  Meena  Manash Ranjan  Jena Meenu  Shrivastava Moumita

Mukesh Sharma Nayanaa  Kanodia Nikhil Biswas Niren Sen Gupta P. N. Choyal Paramjeet  Singh Paresh Maity  Prayag  Shukla   Prokash  Karmakr Sant  Kumar Satish  Gujral Seema  Kohli Shabnam  Hussain Shahid  Parwez Shridar  Iyer Shuvaprasanna Sriniwas  Chari Srinjoy  Gangopadhyay Srirupa  Sen Subrata  Gangopadhyay Sultana Khan Suneet  Ghildiyal Sunil  Padwal Sunil Das Suparna  Mondal Surendra  Pal  Joshi Surjit  Akre Surya  Prakash Sushil  Nimbark Tatiyana  Chagarova Vidyasagar  Upadhyay Vinay  Sharma Yusuf

www.artchill.com  |   sangeetajuneja@hotmail.com   |   gallery.artchill@gmail.com
Ph. 9829011964   |  7220990001   |   8963802727

Aboriginal Art at Artchill

Indigenous art is centered on story telling. There is no written language for tribal folks so in order to convey their cultural stories through the generations it is portrayed by symbols/icons through their artwork. 

Aboriginal Art reflects the earliest period of ancient culture; it has both artistic and anthropological merit. The use of symbols is an alternate way to writing down stories of cultural significance, teaching survival and use of the land. It reflects deep knowledge of spiritual, cultural and practical survival teachings. Tribal art form depicts human forms, animals, plants, sacred and transcendental elements and designs pleasing to the eye. Some pictographic motifs symbolizing joy and pride like the sun, flowers, trees, human figures, peacocks, etc, all a spontaneous result of man’s close association with his immediate surroundings, auspicious designs also consist of two interlaced triangles, signifying Saraswati, the goddess of learning. 

Traditionally, Tribal art forms, though sometimes purely decorative, were used to mark different occasions such as celebrations, events to pacify malevolent deities or forces of nature, thanksgiving, harvests, and the birth of a child, puberty, marriage and cultural festivals.   

                              

To view more work  visit  : www.artchill.com

Unfettered Forces | 6th Feb. - 6th March 2021 | Amber Fort, Jaipur

 Unfettered Forces      

Limitless….Profound…Unrestrained Forces

Art, since prehistoric times, has influenced man. Infact art has been the earliest sign of human imagination & creativity even before the languages evolved. Today’s artists of the Contemporary World  seem to be  melancholic modernists who create works that trick the eye and have an added edge of surreal dimensions. Their paintings, Graphics or Sculptures may not be muted in color or form, but they are bold and powerful and carry a story to narrate. The textures that they add to each canvas echo the trials and tribulations of observations they all ponder over in the everyday idiom of lifestyles and living.Nature offers them pictorial and aesthetic beauty and inspires them with images and ideas. These artists never loose focus as they glide over their energy forces, deftly using elements of abstraction, distortion and simplification to create an alternative world and life where the physical and mystical co-inhabit. It takes courage and tenacity as artists explore an addictive idiom of continuous stimulation-by-image & correspondence between real-world imperatives & inner-world fantasies: reflecting in some ways the conditions of artistic practices within the broader domain of expressive culture.

Unfettered Forces is 138th show by Artchill (Since 1994), it surveys a body of work that leaves itself incisively open, somewhere between being created and wholly complete. For each of the artists, who create intimate glimpses of uncanny worlds and mindscapes suffused with an atmosphere of the unknown and paranoia , change is an inevitable development. Processes and the possibility of instability, openness, and perpetual transformation underlie the creation and understanding of all the exhibited works. The abysmal depth of their artistic vision is abundantly visible in this show as they created with a great deal of passion, intensity and vigor, with layers upon layers mounted with immense dedication and dexterity. Introspective self is matched by an abandon and courage, it may well have stemmed from a subconscious impulse. After all , you require quite a spiritual effort to effect an exact  transformation  of the raw life experience into palpable art .

Spread in 8 lobbies of Gallery Artchill inside the famous Heritage monument -  The Amber Fort, this show offers a holistic Art Experience , it comprises of over 90 artworks by 20 artists - Paintings, Reliefs , Serigraphs & 3D art  by Contemporary Indian artists.

Gallery Artchill, West wing, Amber Fort, Jaipur.
On view till 6th March, Compiled & Curated by  Sangeeta Juneja .

Juneja Art Gallery established in 1994 has been sponsoring exclusive art shows for last 26 years to showcase not only eminent artists works , but has also strongly supported the deserving  & emerging young talent of our country , under its brand name Artchill, which is also its online portal. Artchill has so far sponsored 138 art shows .

Some of the strongest & serious compositions in this show are works by P.N. CHOYAL.  One of the living legends of the Contemporary Art World, and a close Contemporary of the early Indian Modernists of the 1940’s PN Choyal was against any wholesale borrowing from his illustrious forerunners. Unlike the first generation Modernists, he never rejected the essentially lyrical content in the romantic version of the past, nor did he break down the female figure in angry haste and bitterness. A strong & committed artist, his multi-nuanced compositions have the vital rhythm of lived life. Also to create vitality& dynamism in an animate mass is a difficult proposition. This demands not only a good plastic sensibility but in addition the capacity to redo this same sensibility into objective material forms;A very committed painter, His human figures are symbols of pain and agony. His figures are uneasy spectators to the conflicts & strife around them. They are projections of the dehumanized society suffering unbearable dignity and shame.

Arpana Caur affiliates to this prominent school of time explorers. ‘I am obsessed with the phenomenon of time ‘ she said once, and her pictures are witness to this obsession in many ways. The motifs in her paintings from classic art- Scissors are  a repeated symbol and remind us of the Fates, antique goddesses of destiny, who cut the thread of life when the time is due. Traffic lights are phase of order and timing. Everywhere you’ll find the river of time, form which powerful plants emerge or twisted dead trunks and branches submerge. A mediating yogi, oblivious of time and space, stands on one foot and ponders ascetically over spiritual eons.

Gazing at huge works of Jagdish Chander , we find that it is not normal portraiture, but a method of working out human faces wherein each detail is knit in a pattern, and that pattern overrules the separate details of a face. Apparently, the artist aimed to electrify the whole of his compositions, so that viewers strongly winced; for his work is not designed to be a polite, or pretty one, but the very foundational base of our being :in his work the heart is laid bare, tellingly. A sensory contact with an outer as well as inner mental environment occurs - which the deeper physical, emotional and the rational centers receive and interpret.

Niren Sen Gupta - His experimentation with abstract forms continued well into the eighties. But the change in temperament gives a glimpse into the twisting road that life can take. Complex emotions clearly gave way to an underlying feeling of bliss , contentment and a sense of serenity  has stayed on in his work till present day.He has executed impressive works on Moksha where he has portrayed monks  in saffron robes, symbolizing their spirit of sacrifice & compassion. He feels true search for spirituality uplifts one & connects us with  our inner self. In “ Princess ” series, he drew inspiration from the strength of the Indian Woman, her sacrificing spirit and her devotion to family. He depicted her as a princess – closely in touch with nature, and often with a lotus as the symbol of purity.

Vijender Sharma, who excels in the Art of the figure has spent 2 decades probing for the hidden pulse behind appearances. He was particularly attracted to subjects and thinkers who looked beneath the surface of the modern world – to create corollaries where even a stone wall seems to have a secret life. Painted in over two formats of depth and abstraction the experimental stylization of figural form which he developed  has coalesced into a confident, subtle, yet deeply elegant visual archetype which recurs throughout his works, particularly as he returns from abstraction to figurative portrayals.

Akash Choyal’s life is art, his art is dream and the dream is his reality itself, says Sandro Orlandi the Italian Curator on his art -  The artworks are made of a never-ending alternation of reality and dream, art and life and so they create a dance that shows, hides and intertwine rationality, the deepest and most intimate ego and imagination. Using a Freudian terminology, Akash lives and creates in a state of “preconscious” that means it swings between conscious and unconscious creating a rare, uncertain, mysterious and above all sincere dimension. In the dream everything is possible, the mathematical rules, society’s strict limitations and the influences both cultural and physical are completely absent. The spirit is free to create wondering about this world, accessible only by who is able to dream, to lose control and so to be sincere and natural.

Abbas Batliwala has an uncanny talent to combine complexity & simplicity to great visual effect in his amazing compositions.  This incredibly creative man with superb craftsmanship draws on everyday experiences for inspiration which he infuses with a dry, witty sense of urban humour, mixing folk and kitsch into his art. The art of Abbas not only contains satire but also humour. It combines well formulated images with literary puns & sharp wit with grace & candour. His themes merge the rural with urban, masterly disciplined through & bringing to the fore his refined draughtsmanship, which till date remains to the core of his art. He has turned ubiquitous subjects into hot selling art !

Ashok Hazra’s canvasses are all pieces of his life's experiences sewn together in a string to form a garland of memories. One series follows another – Fantasy, Ma, Reminiscence, Clown, Krishna, Devi and now the Flute Player. The lush green Meadows, shady banana groves, the fragrance of wild grass combined with the rich smell of rain soaked mother earth still tingles his dreams. Amidst all this beauty, peace and tranquility the sweet melody of the flute beckons him to his carefree days spent in the countryside.

Shahid Parwez’s  sense of humour which arises from the perception & depiction of incongruities of existence rules  his work, yet over all treatment is a subtle blend of an adult's experience & a child like fantasy. Images of tigers and of romanticized couples, reoccur continually in his work, into serigraphs of multiple colored registrations creating surfaces of incredible richness and extravagance. Shahid in all of his subtleties of wisdom is telling us to view Art through the innocent eyes of the child we once were. His paintings with their multiple surface layerings act in defusing the sometimes explicitly charged renditions of flirtations as in ‘time for love’ with the obvious placement of the heart shaped time piece, a discreet twist of a nipple and the cat’s tail being held suggestively. The oddities in delineation of human as well as animal forms are result of child like fantasy. Shahid has a tendency to draw - conducive theatrical assimilations. 

Subrata Gangopadhyay’s paintings are like  celebrations of  a great human survival. He is enchanted by female forms amid natural surroundings. He feels that sometimes a very calm looking woman could be hiding smoldering fire within of high magnitude, or could be hiding several layers of secrets.The uncommon vibrancy and stimulance of his colorful strokes, the passionate imagery of men or women are ageless and ethereal: that of a superior painter’s creative latitude so incessantly prolific which never appears a cliché or a repetitive chore. Living in current times Subrata recoils from the increasing materialism in our society as it is replete with disguise & beauty-masks .

There is a reflection and frequent presence of 'self ' in all the artworks by Anjani Reddy. If some works explore the intricacies of treasured experiences, the others unravel her day to day exposure and connections with her immediate surroundings and people. The basic core and concept of her work revolves around myriad facets of life, mostly positive and uplifting. The mixed essence of peace and tranquility that defines the basic nature of the artist. Amongst rosy setting and calm harmony, the young women in the works rejoice and reminisce the golden moments and days that have overshadowed all other anecdotes and experiences of their lives. In the perfect harmony of bright and soft, prominent and diffusing colors, the 'Nayika' relaxes and reigns thoroughly.

Shail Choyal is a painter & printmaker known for a distinctive miniature style of his own. He infuses his works in the narrative idiom and also juxtaposes the allegorical with the real. Exploiting the inherent aesthetic motifs and the multi tier division of space of Rajasthani traditional painting, he has evolved a nostalgic art with an utmost modern sensibility. Vibrant colors and surreal settings add mystery to his paintings creating ethereal atmosphere & fantasy.‘City of Udaipur, with its glorious ancient Rajput architecture, lakes, hills, gardens and robust people with brilliant colors have always been my prime concern. Rigid angular form in horizontal and vertical lines punctuated with curvilinear motifs of doors, windows, still bluer lakes, domes and turrets all fill me with strong sense of nostalgia. For years, I exploited the visual references of my lovely city to project my own personal world that has been mystical and real as well’ says Shail.

Asit Kumar Patnaik has been working on the Relations series for quite some time now. It will be interesting, therefore, to explore the kind of selves articulated into the batch of works on the Relations series. To begin with, it is informed by a great deal of individuation. Light, brightness and diversity appear to be a major leitmotif in this series. The pleasantly aggressive brightness of yellow, red, ochre and the bold, often charged postures, is an unabashed celebration of energy, youth and freedom. There is a spring in the steps of the figures; they enjoy every possibility they imagine and weigh with consideration. This ode to life however is no uncomplicated tribute to raw passion but careful sifting away of excess baggage after long and hard meditations.

Madan Meena pays particular attention to Rajasthan’s socio-cultural issues. His actual artistic production is characterized by refined, almost minimal & classy works. Expressing the complex labyrinth of emotions in simple forms is something Madan has learned from the traditional art form of the Meena tribe, which always has been his source of inspiration. Probably the abstraction and expression of complex ideas in simple forms of folk art and their range are the source for Madan's inclination towards abstraction. His works always have a deep and close association with nature, now this association is reaching to new heights of abstraction. The elements of nature in his previous works have now reached to such an amalgamation with the sight that creates deeper sense of magnificence. It has tranquility, optimism and lull, which holds you spellbound & mesmerized. 

Dipika Hazra lays bare the heart-warming simplicity of Rajasthan, the open attitudes of its humanity rooted in the attributes of her land. Dipika’s palette is diversified and vivid. Her choice of reds, yellows and blacks betokens the love of blazing colours with which the people of Rajasthan make up for the vast and drab attributes of their land. The artist depicts remarkable states of serenity & a striking evidence of great strength and skill in organising forms and colours and creating the effect of enchantment and fantasy. The simplicity and spontaneity with which she handles mundane themes is itself a visual treat. She creates a spell binding impact. Untainted by bumptious modernism, Dipika’s works present a lyrical vision of nature.

The innocent and flawless adolescents in the works by AnandPanchal enchant by their exquisite grace, they are an indispensable part of the temple periphery. Born in the family of the ‘pandits’ and the temple care takers, such children imbibe into themselves the elements of the holy surroundings and adapt to them completely. There is an essence of careless beauty and spiritual strength that makes these young girls and boys glow as if illuminated from a source of light concealed deep inside them. He attends to his little angels with affinity, love and thoughtfulness, allowing each of them to glisten in angelic radiance like fresh dew drops on tender leaves. The inclusion of forms such as paper boats, cows, floral clusters and musical instruments add to the metaphorical and allegorical aspects of the works.

Kiran Murdia’s paintings convey her own language of paint and brush subtly, suggestive of her fleeting moods, which she express as proudly by breaking the space of canvas. Her subject matter is simple and she expresses her aesthetic belief in artistic creativity with miniature impact. Use of pure and bright shades of colors, rhythmic & straight lines reflects excitement, movement, grace and charm of life. Her semi-abstract compositions are rich in colors producing dramatic effects in rhythmic movement. The Udaipur landscape still remains a source of reverie, but the centrifugal points in her new works are now accentuated by an abstract delineation.”She respects her pictorial space and honors the moment of inspiration completely.

Ashish Shringi’s body of works in the last two decades has remained inspired by the Tantrik symbolism and traditional art forms of Rajasthan. Living in Bundi the essence of his art always bears the fragrance of nativity. In his paintings he has widely used Tantrik Yantras and symbols contextualizing them with his personal experiences of human relationships. His compositions are highly complex, multidimensional and inter-weaved with multiple perspectives. The feeling of serenity, love, romance, satisfaction, compassion and passion are the soul of his works.

             

Ganga Singh's latest paintings offer us a glimpse into inner landscapes of another world. In these dreamlike scenes, cohabited by animals and people, strange interactions occur that question the traditional logic and expectations of viewing. The bold abundance of vivid colour in his new paintings call for viewers delectation of beautiful patterns, which is his signature pictorial element. His depictions are always stylized from his own imagination, memory and dreams alike. ‘My paintings are based on my response to nature. They are modern designs with a strong primitive and tribal influence. Symmetry plays an important role in my painting with powerful and simplified forms.’ Imagination is the most enjoyable faculty man has. It is God’s gift to man. Everything, whether it is living man or animal or non-living: all are equal and have emotions like us. They also act & react the same way as humans. Animals, trees and other animated forms in his work have human faces.

Srinavasa Chari says my paintings are my ‘experiences’. The shifts in my thought process are certainly evident from the way I express myself in my work. In the formative years of my career I applied human forms to narrate various experiences. Therefore, they were characters, playing roles I issued them to play. But gradually they got internalized within me and now they reflect my soul in the form of bodies. The human body is now depicted as the spirit of life instead of banal relationships. In fact, it is a vehicle for the traveling spirit.