Abstract art made out of grass pads and a magic carpet are the highlights of an ongoing exhibition at Niv Art Centre. By K Bhardwaj
Do you think the grass pad of our home coolers could make for an interesting artIJ Yes, they can and see how (in pictures).
Shridhar Iyer’s attempt to do something out-of-the-box inspired him to use the material, which probably hasn’t been used before. He has used the grass pads to create his abstract art, images of cosmo energy. “I saw them lying on the roadside and suddenly realised they can be used as a terrific medium of art,” says the 52-year-old artist, who is showcasing his works along with Ajay Narayan in an exhibition Friendly Strangers at Niv Art Centre.
Iyer has been exploring the unknown energy and force of the Universe primarily through the medium of painting and drawing.
Experimental in life and work, he has often forayed into installation-based art practices, but it is in the last one and a half month, working in NIV center’s basement studio, the artist has for the first time produced a body of work that shows a sustained engagement with alternative media.
Born in Tamil Nadu, the artist has been with Bharat Bhavan for last 25 years, and has learnt art from the well-known artist Jagdish Swaminathan.
He has added chemicals in his works which make them viable at least for 50 years. “I knew people would think about its sustainability. It will survive for decades,” he asserts.
The other artist showing is Ajay Narayan, who highlights the fact how certain things are emphasised in the society while others are ignored.
“These are symbolic paintings. We live in a world where things are consciously highlighted, be it a custom, practice or individuals,” he says.
One of his paintings, which shows an open window, has two worlds at both of its sides.
“But both are our own spaces. It depends how you look at the space from inside and out,” he says. In other paintings, there are many circular objects “hanging” in the space. “There are symbolic dots which show that they are the only focussed subjects,” he says.
The artist did his Bachelors in Fine Arts in 2001 from Patna University and Masters from Chandigarh Open University in 2003.
For the ongoing exhibition, he has also created an installation called Magic Carpet. It has chairs, tables, a tea pot and paintings. But there is no carpet.
“It is colourful and suggests one to enjoy the life. You just enter this space, relax and enjoy,” he explains the thought. The 35-year-old artist has done over 30 shows in India and abroad. The exhibition will conclude on October 19.