Artist Ramesh Gorjala continues the inward journey into the depths of Indian mythology. His art brings with it the use of intricate kalamkari and earthly tones. By Saritha Saraswathy Balan
Artist Ramesh Gorjala has a distinct way of handling big canvas with a lot of intricate detailing that mesmerize the viewers. His colour sense creates a rich mood that immediately establishes an Indian traditional connect, yet the paintings have a contemporary appeal or feel the curators of the show Jinoy and Sreejith. For Samarpan, an exhibition progressing at the Visual Arts Gallery India Habitat Centre, Ramesh Gorjala has portrayed gods who have been deeply rooted in the cultural fabric of the country. Are the gods real and how do we truly understand something which is so complex and simple at the same time, is what Gorjala seeks to find through his sketches.
He has portrayed the Dreaming Krishna flying through the blue and gold threads of life. Krishna is the playmate, the lover and the all –seeing warrior in it. Created in mixed medium the work visualizes Krishna as someone who saw everything, but nothing.
In the Matsya avatar, he has drawn the Matysa in duality. It’s like diving deep into the earth, one strong foot print on this earth, but a mirror to the past as well. Matsya is the thinker and doer in it, a sutradhaar.
“There is, always exit a question on whether God exists or not. But, in India divinity is something rooted in the culture. The essence of his paintings are search of the divinity and for him it comes from the heart. For him art is positive which bring a feeling of warmth and love,” says another curator Megha.
See the painting Kamadhenu, its joyous, childlike and innocent. She brings life and love, filled with the benevolence of all the Gods, blessing her progeny with the essence of life. Kamadhenu is portrayed as destiny’s favourite child that brings luck and love. In the devotion of Hanuman, the mythical character has been sketched as a saga of love and determination, the friend, the sevak, the follower and the savior.
In Ganesha, the lord is the ever watchful protector of all words. He has been painted as the ageless, nemesis of demons and fears, with his ekdrishti- eye on all the world. In the painting Vishnu, the lord has been portrayed as Padmanabha swaroop. At first there is just light and the restful matsya, then the awakening. It’s like light comes into being and Vishnu gives birth to the lotus and Bharma, the creator.
For Gorjala he adores Krishna over the other deities and his sketches are interpretations of the stories he has brought with up and born out his vast reading on mythology. “Painting is like devoting God to me. I do it like as an act of prayer with utmost devotion. Paintings of Gods in my home is treated in the same way as we do for idols,” says the artist.
“Nature also attracts me and some time I feel God and nature as the same, “ he adds.In chaturmukha, it’s Chaturbhuj Ki Maya (the magic of the lord with four faces). The lord is presented like an omnipresent architect of birth, life and death. The sketches are like countless forms and shapes through space and time. With the four faces, Chaturbhuj has been depicted in the painting, as protector, friend and teacher and the one leading us to the cycle of life. In the Bheema and Arjuna they are drawn like the brothers who understood each other, revered, feared and loved. The show concluded recently at Visuals Art Gallery, IHC.