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

Fractional WHOLE | 16th Oct - 16th Dec 2022 at Juneja Art Gallery, Jaipur

 Diverse visual narrations bound by creative expressions

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 by Sangeeta Juneja

Show is on view till 16^th Dec 2022 at Juneja Art Gallery, 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 FARHAD HUSAIN 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  KARMAKAR SANT  KUMAR SATISH  GUJRAL SEEMA  KOHLI SHABANA QUADRI 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

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Laxma Goud

Laxma Goud’s detailed figurative works depict exaggerated mythic figures among the rural realities of the Indian countryside. In operatic etchings, pastels, charcoal drawings, paintings, and sculptures.

Goud draws on his childhood in rural India and incorporates traditional tribal ornaments and elements of Indian dress such as lungis and saris.

Yusuf

My work shows the interrelationship of man and machine today. We are surrounded by machines, in which we are told that we are living in a world where we have wings and we are all flying from beyond the limit.   

All the work is being done by the machine, slowly the sensations are ending, and we are increasing the need, the world is running through the mind, the body and the emotions are becoming secondary..

Farhad hussain

Farhad’s vibrant paintings have a youthful, playful energy. Simple and easy on the eye, his works show an understanding of the complexities of Human nature and relationships. They sit comfortably with the viewer, with Just a touch of humour and sarcasm. His human figures are well defined and emanate individualistic character traits, making them relevant to the Scene being played out in the art. Saturated colours and vibrant backdrops are becoming the hallmarks of his works.

Farhad lets many influences flow into his work—flashes of miniature Paintings, Kalighat Chitras and Japanese prints evolve into a wholesome Image, making it easy to recognize his work.

Ingrid Pitzer

As a trained sculptor at college of Art, Berlin, I wanted to explore new 'sculpture' - material and was awarded a residency in Japan.

There I discovered, what a strong Material paper can be, if strong  fibers are used to cast 3dimensinal Art works. In Addition to this, these strong fiber materials are pure nature without any chemical Additions and therefore last up to hundreds of years.

This quality, among others, is the big difference to commonly known paper machee, which is only recycled industrial material of the lowest level and therefore does not survive many years. 

I became obsessed with the wondrous and enchanting abilities of handmade paper as a sculptural material.  Whenever I go to work at a new place, I always respond to that very surroundings which becomes the source of Inspiration. Like this two exhibited works were created in the backwaters of Kerala - and they could not have been created in the normal  Studio environment.

Jagdish Chander

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.

Baalaa R

His entire works are being installed in sculptural manner using various types of innumerable materials to enhance the subject-matter of prints. The basic nature of these art works is to express an altogether modified concept in the prevailing contemporary art field .The key substance in the works containing different means of skillful application of technological expertise, the quality of materials were so handled as to enhance the projection of concept when the underlying concept would become predominant. Such a process is experimental and innovative so as to make an attempt to revamp the way of expressing the abstract concept. It is also an attempt to establish the reality that art forms a bridge between the processes of spirituality through scientific applications; which means a material manifestation of an interface between the realization of ‘truth’ and the guidance to objective practices. To define this entire process “the maximum most simplicity contains in it the maximum most complexity” 

Dhiraj Singh

Why I do what I do…

My X-ray art is for me a way of using the dramatic and the otherworldly to shed light on the regular and the immediate. I think my fixation with X-rays has its roots in my childhood. My X-ray works are an attempt to essentialize my experiences. Pare them down to their bare bones. X-rays have for me become a way of seeing things without the stuff that holds them together. It’s a way that reduces human form to its essentials. In grey and black and some white. Not surprisingly my first X-ray work was called ‘Urban Shaman 1’ and it tried to show urban life as an arrangement of body parts and objects such as a gun, cell phones, keys, car tyres and god statues. Some people find my works scary and morbid. Agreed those skulls and bones can be intimidating at first. But there are bigger truths that the initial shock and awe help us see.

Dileep Sharma

Unafraid to chart new territories, Dileep Sharma plays with images and colour to give us a vocabulary embedded in the miniaturist and folk art traditions of his home state Rajasthan. Objects, people, cultures, traditions, emotions—all combine easily and represent a global take on social and political issues in a mildly satirical way . His work is colourful, with motifs embedded within forms—cut and mixed to often make a sharp comment on the impermanence of the world dominated by media. He brings in humour, fantasy and social commentary with a very light touch. The artist currently lives and works between Jaipur and Mumbai. He has received several national and international awards and residencies, and has held several solo and group shows.

Nayanaa Kanodia

When the world that disturbs me and the world of which I have an intimate understanding of are absorbed and amalgamated, a new artistic dialect is created. The conversation I hope to create in my work is a certain truth of life and on a deeper level, a well thought philosophy.

Individuals may interpret my paintings in vastly disparate ways and each view will be equally logical and plausible, thought provoking and intriguing. A picture of the moment is built and whole histories and relationships become visible.

Being India's chief practitioner of Naive Art, my work delights the viewer with its whimsy, the flat bright polished surfaces, vibrant and dynamic colours and extraordinary plethora of intricately worked details, patterns and shapes. My paintings are reflections on the charming idiosyncrasies of my subjects with a fine degree of wit and gentle satire and yet contain the most important social messages of our lives.

Brief Profile

An economist turned painter and a brilliant colourist with a strong individualism in her work ,Nayanaa Kanodia can be considered to be the pioneer of the genre of L’Art Naif in India. She has held innumerable shows in India and abroad. Her paintings are in the collection of major art collectors and corporate houses all over the world. Musee International D’Naif Art in Paris permanently displays her paintings. She has exhibited and demonstrated her painting techniques in Victoria and Albert Museum in London.She was the first Indian whose paintings were selected in Paintings In Hospitals.UK. She has been featured in an international publication Women in Art by Reinhard Fuchs, a rare honour for any Indian artist. She was chosen from all the artists of The Commonwealth Countries to have a solo show in their newly renovated complex in London . Impressed with the social messages being conveyed in her paintings, a consortium of schools in Los Altos, U.S.A. is using her work as a medium of instruction to their students. She has recently been appointed as a juror for PrismaArt Prize for their Rome Dividere in Europe. She is the first Indian on their panel which is an honour not only for her but also for her country. She is associated with many charitable societies, gives talks and conducts workshops and presentations on art in various organizations and universities. She is also a judge in art competitions. She has attended Art Camps in India, London, Sweden, Italy, Moscow, Greece, Bangkok and Cambodia. Her work is characterized by the air of whimsy, flat bright polished surfaces and the extraordinary plethora of intricately worked details and patterns.

Arpana Caur

Arpana Caur affiliates to this prominent school of time explorers. ‘I am obsessed with the phenomenon of time ‘ she said once, and her paintings 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. Delhi-based Arpana Caur has held solo shows in India, London, Berlin, Amsterdam, Munich, New York and Stockholm. She was commissioned by the Hiroshima Museum of Modern Art to execute a large work for its permanent collection on the 50th anniversary of the Holocaust in 1995. Her works are in Museums of Modern Art in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chandigarh, V&A London, Bradford, LA, Hiroshima, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Kunst Museum Dusseldorf and Swaraj Archive Noida. She got a Gold Medal in Triennele International 1986 and Lifetime Achievement Awards in Punjab and Bihar. She founded the Academy of Fine Arts and Literature, along with her writer mother Ajeet Caur, through which she supports fine arts and vocational training for the underprivileged. A strong advocate for protecting the environment, she is also committed to the restoration of heritage.

Kashmiri Khosa

Working and living in solitude and silence of the Tapovan area of Dharamshala under the Dhauladhar peak of the Himalayas since more than twenty five years. Till now I have been trying to understand and grasp the ancient Indian texts and trying to transform the very thought and wisdom of these texts into modern visual language of art on Canvas.The present series of works are called '' THE MUSIC OF UNIVERSE ''. These are the limited edition signed digital art prints on quality archival paper. These digital works are inspired from the nature and surroundings next to my studio in mountains. Without nature human beings can't live normal lives. Nature can exist without man, but humans can't exist without nature.

Chirayu Kumar Sinha

On a lighter note is the work by Chirayu Kumar Sinha titled Bronze Chamiya, one very humorous heads created in stoneware of women dressed up to go out for the evening. Using all the elements of ceramics, he has created a lasting image that is jocular and displays a fair amount of skill.

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.