LUMINOUS ENIGMAS
22 Apr, 2018 - 28 May, 2018
Nungambakkam
LUMINOUS ENIGMAS
The seeker thirsting for the essence of life wavers between the real and the unreal, the physical and the spiritual. In this gap, lies the enigma of life. And in this space, the painter loses herself, the artist finds himself. There is a sense of illumination beyond logic or reason. Luminous enigmas present the worlds of six painters traversing forests, cityscapes, flora, fauna and divine grace in search of unanswered questions.
In seasoned artist Bharti Singh’s introspective paintings, Nature and the Divine come together like a web of organisms. Like patterns, the mythical story keeps recurring over time. The force-lines of destiny, the organic arrangements of roots and leaves are constructed as iridescent fractals as Singh throws us lifelines, expertly generating mythologies and tracking these to a divine source. Artist, journalist and co-founder of Studio Saks, Upsana Asrani delves into emotive bonds of relationship to emerge with abstract canvases of vibrant acrylics in her Lost and Found series. These pictorial narratives are haunting with a prescience of personal space, intimately communicating with folds, textures, blemishes, marks and colour.
Somnath Bothe captures the peculiar transcendence of Banaras as if espying the ‘city of light’ through various filters. Under a haze of a green, the orange glow of twilight and a shimmering screen of rain, time stands still. Artist Praveen knits together urban topographies transforming them into evocative statements. His bejewelled landscapes expose the fragile nature of cities, like shimmering mirages.
Tradition meets contemporary discourse in Kerala artist Roy K. John’s iconographic style displaying influences of the mural-painting tradition of Guruvayoor. His mesmeric tapestries brim with an abundance of life - parakeets and monkeys capering about, luscious jackfruit and lotus ponds. Exploring the equine form that has enthralled the human mind for aeons, Devidas Dharmardhikari’s work rides the outer edge of the show with a spurt of energy. The bold blues and reds heighten the frenetic energy of horses, their power and beauty.
From the act of seeing, our mind makes a leap of imagination to transcend the dualities of life. Reality is suspended, hovering between meditative landscapes and whirlpools of energy, letting us ponder, delight and escape.
- Sujata Shankar Kumar