The Gonds are purely connected with nature and they gather all the aspects of their beliefs and traditions in their painting,” says an eminent Gond artist Venkat Raman Singh.
In a rendezvous with The Pioneer Venkat Raman Singh shared about the rich culture and art and craft of one of the largest tribe of the State, the Gond. Vekant along with other eleven artists of the group Cheenha has put up a painting exhibition, at Alliance Francaise Art Gallery that began here from June 8 and would be on display till Saturday.
Artists like, Venkat Raman Singh Shyam, Vijay Kumar Shyam, Nankusiya Shyam, Rajendra Shyam, Dileep Shyam, Dhawat Singh Uikey, Gariba Singh Tekam, Heeraman Urveti, Ramsingh Urveti, Subhash Vyam, Sureah Kumar Dhurwe and Mohan Shyam have put up the series of their Gond paintings before the Bhopalites. This is the first exhibition of Cheenha group in Bhopal.
As Gond are very close to nature they often portray their emotions and perceptions through the depictions of God, Goddesses, animals, trees, human beings and even birds. “Pantheon represents all the aspects of nature. The fine lines, dots and dashes of traditional Gond Pradhan,” added Vekant.
Informing about the old tradition of Gond artists and origion of the art, Vekant said, “The Gond motifs were introduced to the world by the painter J Swaminathan, who discovered a talented seventeen year old Jangarh Singh Shyam decorating the huts of Patangarh in Madhya Pradesh.”
The legacy of Jangarh is captured in the artistic brilliance and creativity of his family who he had mentored in this traditional art form, and thus came about the resurgence of a whole new generation of Shyams, Vekant added.
The Cheenha group of Gond artists is a group of 12 artists who only practice Gond paintings. “The motifs in the paintings are fine lines, dots, squares, leaf designs or could be anything. The artist can bring innovations in the Gond motifs according to his imagination and perception,” says Vekant.
This diverse approach brings Gond art closer to contemporary art in many ways, which is always filled with originality and freshness.
On asking about the abstract art is closer to Gond art, Vekant says, “The Gond paintings are a signature art for all the other art forms.” It takes almost at least two or three days to finish a painting, exclaimed Vekant.
The works of the Gond artist look alike but they are all individual expression of an artist. One can see the difference between these works and it is a realisation of theexpansion of a particular style which has a potential to include many other aspects of the imagination.