Purusha Prakriti celebrates earth month in Ahmedabad
Critic and Curator Uma Nair has been writing for the past 34 years on art and culture She has written as critic for Times of India and Economic Times. She believes that art is a progressive sojourn. She learnt by looking at the best shows in Washington D.C. and New York. As author her most important books are Reverie with Raza and Meditations on Trees by Ompal Sansanwal. LESS ... MORE
The works of 39 artists come together in a historic showing at Bespoke Art Gallery Ahmedabad, in a celebration of Earth Month titled Purusha Prakriti. Paintings, prints, sculptures and ceramics by some of India's finest practitioners are all under one roof and it breathes of rhythms of the earth and the beauty of imagination.Designed as an avant garde space by the brilliant architect Shomu Dasgupta, this is a free floor plan, longitudinal space that invites the gaze of art lovers to create a world within a world spanned over long walls.
Himmat Shah and Manu Parekh
Dedicated to the late modernist sculptor Himmat Shah, it begins with a small head by Himmat that belonged to his London series specially given for the show. The spartan, archetypal bronze textured head is a masterpiece in meditation and the idea of the human head always being an enigmatic symbol of life to artists and sculptors all over the world.The idea of the dedication is taken from the fact that Himmat was born in Lothal in Gujarat and his life has been one of selfless service to the art of sculpture in India.Founder of Bespoke Devin Gawarvala says: The Himmat sculpture is a definite example of his brilliance and we are so honored to have this in our gallery in Ahmedabad.
The second master to be part of this epic exhibition is Manu Parekh. His early 1997 canvas on board is a monumental work created in acrylic and sand with a few splashes of deep purple that creates evocations of chants and the beauty of rituals and time spent savouring the world of contemplated idioms in Benares. Manu's handling of the compositional alchemy comes from his love for Abstract Expressionists and his idea of blending both materials and mediums to create Benares in its contemporary character. Manu was specially chosen after this critic saw his historic Samudra Mathan at India Art Fair as well as Astaguru's Showkeen at Mumbai. Director Anar Gawarvala, said she liked Manu Parekh's Banaras for its narrative of tradition and the suggestion of bhakti always being a part of Indian accents in the lifestyle of people from all walks of life.
Ankon Mitra and Karl Antao
Sculptural studies add to the inventory of artistic aesthetics in this show. The exhibition has an installation of 3 aluminium butterflies that have been powder coated and folded in origami style by the maestro Ankon Mitra whose installation is also a part of Ahmedabad Airport Terminal T2.His frame within a frame is the second work in this show and it extols the virtues of time as a testimony. Ankon is known also as a landscape designer who melds the consciousness of the inner spirit with a yen for botanical brilliance.
The entrance of the show has a pair of Burmese teak multiple facaded sculptural heads by Ahmedabad dweller Karl Antao. Director Devin Gawarvala who admired Antao's works was delighted to discover Antao and said he was unaware that Ahmedabad had such a brilliant sculptor in the city. Antao is well known for his monumental sculpture at Trident Oberoi in Mumbai and has been a seasoned sculptor who works only in wood .Accents and shades of sanding down in varied colour tones is what sets apart Antao's work for its contemporary charisma.
Sanjay Bhattacharyya and Phaneendra Nath Chaturvedi
The idea of Purusha Prakriti, was to include multiple mediums and materials. Amongst drawings in the show two stellar drawings speak of the oldest tools in the world, pen and ink, pencil ,pastel and graphite. Sanjay Bhattacharyya's Durga is a lithe lined beauty created as a tribal form and nestled in the beauty of bhakti.He says his Durgas are a celebration of form and feminine fervour and it isn't about religion. However it is the nestling of elements that draws the gaze of art lovers.
Phaneendra Nath Chaturvedi's Winged -5 mixed media on archival paper goes back to 2014 is work of depth and gravitas.As an artist Phaneendra is versatile in many mediums and uses his love for pencil to create man in monochrome suited to fashion modern urban living.The wing of a bird is one deep zoological depth. ' The central figure is a figure of beauty,' says Phaneendra. ' My choice of donning him in a striped shirt represents the beauty, I associate with confidence. The wings of the eagle represent a different beauty: of unbridled freedom, of living life on one's own terms and an ambition that keeps him going in a competitive world.'
Images: Bespoke Art Gallery Ahmedabad
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