Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A dash of colour, coming through the strokes of brush, has pepped up the Modern Art Gallery at Bharat Bhawan. The inside atmosphere of the hall seems to have mingled with the melody of birds and the odour of the spring flowers pervading the air outside.
The works of six award-winning artists – Paramjit Singh, Jyoti Bhatt, Ira Chowdhary, Dhruva Mistry, Manish Pushkale and Devilal Patidar – created the ambience inside the hall. None of the artists needs any fresh introduction.
The paintings, especially the ones by Singh and Bhatt, define nature in different moods.
Singh from Punjab has portrayed forests in black and white. Each curve is dynamic. A white path surrounded by dark and deep woods comes up so well that it reminds an art lover of Robert Frost’s poem: Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.
In his works, nature manifests herself in bright colours too. A melange of green, garden yellow and subtle pink adds vivacity to his work, Touched by the Sun.
Jyoti Bhatt’s subtle energy | FP Photo
Bhatt’s works consist of nature as well as humans. He has studied woodcut, linocut and lithography. That cuts a swath in his works. Each line is full of ideas. He barely interprets them. Few artists in India have ever considered printmaking as a medium of expression. Ergo his graphics strengthen and print an image in multiple ways. The images he has created have snakes, stars, a bird and an owl and the head of a human. They have a subtle meaning. A few critics have appreciated this work as showing different stages of inner feelings. It displays attainment of higher state of consciousness through subtle energy.
Ira Chowdhary’s pottery | FP Photo
Chowdhury from Delhi has displayed ceramic potteries. Wife of a renowned sculptor Sankho Chowdhury, she has studied in Shanti Niketan. Chowdhury brings the past beauties to the present generation. Each piece of work contains her magic touches. Traditional plates and wires made by her have a fine finesse.
A metallic work by Dhruva Mistry | FP Photo
Mistry from Baroda has opted for a new technique. He has used iron plates to make human figurines. Each work is bright. A composition containing a male and a female conveys the message of creation. In another work, a male figurine in bright blue indicates virility. The artist has breathed life into it.
Manish Pushkale’s Orality | FP Photo
The object of Pushkale from Bhopal is difficult to explain. All his works look like Kantha or Guthri embroidery. One of his works, titled Orality in acrylic, limns the quality of being verbally communicative. It also means sexual energy and feeling on the mouth. It is difficult to explain, though. Another piece d’art, Memory, comprises ten paintings. It is a mélange of the past and the present. His Cacophony, a drawing on a Japanese scroll, is thought-provoking.
Devilal Patidar’s aqua life | FP Photo
Patidar from Bhopal describes aqua life through ceramic works. Conch shells, octopuses and sips look original. He also gives a new meaning to the world of insects which humans crush without understanding that they too have the right to live. Each insect, though made of ceramic, seems to have been impregnated with life.
Against this backdrop, the artists’ tinge merges with hues of nature.
Timeline
Eighty-six works on display.
Paramjit Singh, Jyoti Bhatt, Dhruva Mistry and Ira Chowdhury feted with Rashtriya Kalidas Samman.
Manish Pushkale, Devilal Patidar given Rajya Shikhar Samman.
The exhibition beginning on February 13 will continue till February 28.
