little wonders

When we were children, allowed to use only a pencil and an eraser, a pen was an object of mystery and desire. And when we were finally granted an all access pass to it, a curiosity took over. Every aspect of it — the cap, the refill, the different kind of ink, the spring mechanism of the push pen — intrigued us. According to artist Binay Kumar, frustration, is an emotion that he associates with the pen. He explained, “There are times when you are writing something important and the ink stops. To make it flow again, we scratch and scribble on another paper.” Most people discard that paper, thinking it as waste. But Kumar saw something artistic in them and brought them together at an exhibition titled life at its Best. 

Kumar’s artwork, titled Innovation, Creation and Frustration was a combination of three separate sets of paintings. “The idea behind this is the way I used pen in my childhood,” he told us. Frustration was represented by the haphazard lines that that he scratched on a piece of paper when the refill did not work. With creation, he tried to depict how he used to draw, write or doodle whenever he found a pen or a refill. He added, “Innovation explains itself. It shows how I developed new ways to play with them and utilise them.” 

The group exhibition gave artists a platform to reach out their emotions, thoughts and visions to the outside world, through their aesthetic forays, in various mediums and forms. “We wanted them to express their views of the simple joys of life,” said artist and curator of the exhibition, Pankaj Nigam.There was a large, vibrant painting of lord Buddha sitting in a meditative position surrounded by several colouful chakras. “I like to play with colours,” pointed out the artist, Kamal Sharma. Titled Cosmic Energy it conveyed the positive energy that human beings get when they indulge themselves in yoga. Bold and bright colours seemed to be his favourites. His work titled Joint Family beautifully depicted how there are ups and downs in life, and also how, at the end of the day, the family is the only place where you go for comfort and support. Interestingly, his pictures did not portray human beings, but showcased how honey bees work together, regardless of situations. He shared, “Through this painting, I wanted to show that being in a joint family brings happiness and peace to all the members of the family.”

For artist Aman Sagar, memories of his childhood played a great role in his ideas and paintings. His artworks were vivid descriptions of his adventures or his “travel diaries,” as he put it. “Whatever I saw during my travels I have always tried to capture in my canvas. My artworks are inspired by the beauty of nature, heritage and human emotions,” he said.

The exhibition also had paintings and sculptures from artists like Konika Kakar, Kamal Sharma, Sourabh Mazumdar, Sanjeev Kumar Sinha, Sonia Sareen, Shradha Bhatia, Narottam Patel, Gouri Shankar Mukherjee and Devyani Kapoor.