The exhibition Of Masters and Heroes at Art Spice Gallery celebrates the many different perspectives as internalised by well-known artists from south India, discovers Navneet Mendiratta
Delhi art lovers can indulge in the flavours of South at Art Spice Gallery at the Metropolitan Hotel and Spa, which is hosting an exhibition of art works by modern masters and well-known artists from South India.
While the modern masters are represented by C Dakshinamoorthy, Pon Ragunathan and P Perumal, the heroes stand for the post modernism style adopted by A Viswam, N Manoharan and P Gnana.
A mix of figurative, abstract and sculptures, the exhibition titled Of Masters and Heroes is a beautiful rendition of the modern and contemporary style of art from the south of India.
“These are the kind of works that you do not get to see often in North India. It was in Madras, rechristened as Chennai, that the country had its first art college post Independence and the style of art that emerged from this has played a great role in redefining the development of modern and contemporary art in India,” said Babita Gupta, director, Art Spice.
The show has been curated by V Gnana who is currently based out of Singapore.The highlight of the exhibition is the inclusion of canvasses painted live by the artists at the inauguration of the show.
“The artworks bring out the images of south as I have grown up seeing. The style is fluid and theme simple. The works bring out the colour and life of the region,” she said.
Speaking on the choice of artists for the show she said that while the gallery has worked with P Gnana in the past, the gallery wanted a more cohesive group that could relate to each other.
“Three of the artists participating in the show — C Dakshinamoorthy, P Perumal and A Viswam — are National award winners and each of the other artists too hold a distinct style and acclamations of their own.”
Other than sculpting tough metal sourced out of scrap to create beautiful (and now signature) cow figures, Gnana likes to use oil and fabric collage on canvas to create great figurative imagery.
“Experimenting with the combination of found materials has been one of the key instruments that has shaped Gnana’s creative journey through the years, allowing him to rejuvenate in a world of constant change and fluctuating emotions,” said Gupta.
The works of Dakshinamoorthy hold great promise with his simplistic depiction of village belles. Viswam’s canvasses attempt to capture the various temperaments of nature in oil, at the same time offering a sense of absolute freedom during the time of creation.
Perumal and Pon too bring out the theme of village life in their very own distinct style. “There is no theme really, but life as it exists in that part of the world,” says Gupta. Could be because most of these artists have chosen to settle in small villages where life is pretty uncomplicated.
“In fact, Permal’s works are much brighter than they were in the late 80s when he gained popularity,” she added. The show, which began on September 28, is open till October 31.