The painting that shows lord Ganesha sitting lovingly on Maa Durga’s lap reflects influences of many traditions in a single canvas. Painted by artist Kashinath Bose and titled Gourisruto it has touches of the Bengal patchitro and bears a faint resemblance to the figures engraved on Egyptian pyramids. Bose is among the 14 artists whose paintings are on display at the Art life Gallery in an exhibition titled Spring Breeze.
While there are works of veterans like SV Rama Rao and Gautam Partho Roy, first time artists like Hemant Kumar Kalita and Monika Pandey have also displayed their works at the exhibition. Monika, who works as an intelligence officer with Central Economic Intelligence Bureau, feels that her journey into the world of colours has been a journey of self-realisation. Three of her paintings — a stork wading across water, a tree standing strong and tall surrounded by water and the reflection of the Gateway of India in the surrounding water body — portray her fascination with water. “I want to showcase the rippling effect of water. It is very similar to life. Every action that we do have an effect, directly or indirectly, on the people around us and our environment,” said the artist.
Hemant Kumar Kalita is a professional Kathak dancer and painting helps him find solace. His paintings are abstract with a message on spirituality. In one of his paintings, he depicts the two shades of man during the day and at night. That, he says, is inspired by Osho. Another painting shows the transition of the soul from the mortal body to heaven, overcoming all physical and earthly desires. The thought of the journey of the soul came to him when he saw a peaceful face of his sister, minutes after she passed away a few years ago. He shared, “I felt so much pain and agony and no matter how much I danced, I could not vent it out. Most people write to get over something traumatic but I cannot put my thoughts into words. So I sought to painting and it has been a very soothing experience.”
At the entrance of the gallery, one will come across a few paintings, all of which portray the back side of a woman and a lotus. The paintings are part of artist Gautam Partho Ghosh’s series The lotus Collection. According to the artist, the lotus is symbolic to the creation of life, “just like lord Vishnu is the creator of the universe.” The women in the paintings are also symbolic because only they have the capability to create new life on earth. The artist is fascinated by God’s creations and therefore explores it in his paintings.
The theme of women can also be seen in the works of Chitra Singh, Reeta Roy and Sekhar Mukherjee. While Roy’s paintings present various moods of a woman, women in Mukherjee’s canvas are established as the supreme authority of a household. In one of Roy’s paintings, titled Waiting, a woman sits resting her cheek on her hand while another depicts a woman brushing her hair. Mukherjee’s woman on the other hand occupies a bigger space in the canvas while all other things are in the background and are smaller in size. It is interesting to note that all his exhibits are characterised by the presence of a peacock, which the artist uses as a signature.
“In every house, the woman is taken for granted, they are expected to do household work and pursue a career if they wish. In my canvas, the woman is in the foreground and everything is at the back and is small. It is to suggest that women are the soul of any home,” he said.
A painting by SV Rama Rao is, however, the star attraction of the exhibition. One cursory glance will show a faint outline of a big creature breathing fire. The artist explained that the artwork is a combination of surrealism with the abstract. “In surrealism the forms can be identified to some extent while in abstract you only play with colours. Therefore, this is a combination of drawing and painting,” said the Padmashree awardee.