Gopi Mangalath

There are many people who don multiple feathers in their hat. Versatile creative persons would be such people. They are not bound by their field of studies or their job, in whatever they do. They understand well that sheer creativity do not bring in bread always. One needs food always, bills needs to be paid. The concept of certain blue blooded critics and artists that the profession or studies of a person influencing/affecting their work and resulting in substandard works dosent bother these realistic and self respecting breed of creative people, who are willing to try out whatever that sets them free. Gopi Mangalath is one such person. He is a creative director, movie director, visual artist, writer, poet and columnist. He is a publisher too with Golden Jokes Books and Monthly. He dedicated his life for the new and unique ideas in arts and literature. He is a graduate of Botany, as well as Applied Arts ( BFA Applied Arts, from the Government College of Fine Arts in Thiruvananthapuram). Experimentation with texture, style, size, shape and colours are Gopi’s forte. He has conducted 8 exhibitions on paintings and sculptures and also participated in Kerala state Lalithakala Academy’s annual exhibition and painters camp etc. He received award for the Logo of Kochi Smart City. He has three Limca Book of World Records for First One Line Stories, First Film Role Book Design and First Abstract Film. He wrote the concise history of Cinema in miniature size in the form of a film role. The Abstract film by him is a murder mystery created without any title, dialogues or any animal, birds, human beings or not even an ant; but with a clear story line and characters. He also has 2 Best of India records. His poetry "Sterile Feelings' was translated and published into 'Poet', an the Intercontinental magazine . He wrote a column on visual art in a Malayalam newspaper's Sunday supplement for a year and his programmes have featured in TV and radio.

 

First film role book design that won him one of his three Limca Book of World Records.

One of his interviews

Logo designed by Gopi Mangalath for White Sanctum Art Gallery

Face of White Sanctum series of facebook based online exhibitions post designs designed by Gopi Mangalath

 

Gopi's creativity flows into various areas of art and literature. Bringing out novel methods in everything he deals with. He experiments with different styles of art... He doesn't look far for inspirations. His references are from things nearby. The cattle that graze in the nearby plots graze on to his colors and forms. His cow series of works have found much appreciation from galleries and connoisseurs. 

He also makes images inspired from local religious or ethnographic contexts and depicts them in his way giving respect to the image. 

His works flow even to the topics such as sensuality where the nature's procreating strength sways and intermingles to form sensuous images that "breathes life" in a lifeless canvas. 

[Images courtesy: Gopi Mangalath]

The artist, though from applied arts background and with work as a publisher etc to be sustainable, gives his best when he turns to art, whenever he can. He have been closely observing the art of many artists in Kerala consistently since past decades and that is why he is a natural critic of art works. His articles on art come in many monthlies and other media.

These four pictures are of his article in Yeyuthu Magazine published in September 2020. It gives a vivid a description of his native place along with an interesting communication with Guru Nithyachaithanya Yati on aesthetics and art. Gopi shared anecdotes about this beautiful series of doubts and their answers given by the Guru, without ever realising that they would feature as articles later. These can be referred by young artists stepping into a world where half knowledge is being decorated and displayed as the ultimate rules. The beauty of Gopi's writings are their no nonsense simplicity and experience, along with the serene descriptive flow almost like water. 

[Image courtesy: Gopi Mangalath and Yeyuthu Magazine]

An Artist who Infuses Color to Culture, Literature and Arts

Rick Hunt is an artist who learnt art from Franconia and Massachusetts College of Art for illustration and fine art. He also did a BS in psychology from Lesley University in Cambridge Massachusetts. He was mentored internationally by the artist Kenneth Westhaver. Later his mentor adviced him that one should go to art school, learn everything can and hone your skills...get out...and forget it all. He developed his style of painting which a mix of psychedelic/ pop/sci-fi/confessional. Rick’s work has been influenced mostly by musicians rather than other visual artists. He admire Jackson Pollock, De Kooning...Many inspirations just come from his life experience...Rick has ALWAYS created art ever since he could pick up a pencil. He feels that he became a serious artist at the age of twelve... Rick says that the music of Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, and most recently Anoushka Shankar is influencing his work... Rick created a series of paintings on Abenaki, the indigenous native American tribe along with the native American artists. This series of paintings focuses on creating Maine-based conversations like those taking place nationally about contemporary issues, as expressed through Native art. It is about Native identity in this society at this time, and the challenges one experiences living ‘Indian’ in our various ‘worlds’. In 2011, Rick met the famed actress, singer, author, poet, businesswoman, cultural icon and American scholar Angela Bowie in the social cyberworld of facebook. When Angela made “The Angie Bowie Show” page on Facebook, Rick did a two feet high by three feet long drawing for the title page and sent it to Angela in the mail. The beautiful painting became the title page and the beginning of their collaboration, which started with the book “Cat-Astrophe” which was published last year followed by “Fancy Footwork”. Rick illustrated poems of Angie for both her books. They also collaborated on two books of Rick’s artwork, “Gaucho Visions” and “Gaucho Visions II”, with Rick providing the images. They even had in exclusive show in radio, with “The Angie Bowie Barnett Show”. They started it as a forum for inviting their creative, talented friends to talk about themselves and their art, with all enjoying a spirit of fellowship, laughter and mutual appreciation. Rick is also illustrating a lot of David Bowie-esque type imagery because of all the projects he works with Angela Bowie. Rick also is part of a band The Dream Foundry where along with his friends Kevin Wallbank and Sally Sharp- Paulsen wrote and recorded songs from being in different places. They are an example of how changes in music technology, and shared objective can result in a band creating music in two different countries. The Dream Foundry had been graced with many brilliant portraits by Rick over the years; as with Angie and her poetry, no other artist could have expressed them and their sound perfectly through visual interpretation. Rick has been doing illustrations of songs as well as his brilliant illustrations of the band and Collective Rick’s lines and colors sway with the music of the band of Dream Foundry, with the poems of Angela and even with the social identity of the native tribe of America. Rick’s illustrations breathes life into the beautiful verses of Angela’s poetry and stories. It comes with thorough understanding that Rick has about the people, their culture, literature, art and music, that he is involved with. 

 

The malayalam version of this post was published in the malayalam monthly magazine 'Prasadakan' in its October 2020 edition.

 

Art and Artist's Thoughts During the Corona Pandemic

Pandemics like Covid-19 creates much difficulties in all respects, especially in health, financial and social aspects .  It is also a time when the morale of the people is at risk. It brought us face to face with the adverse situations and momentariness of life. Things we took for granted, become needs to luxuries.  This was also a wake up call to all of us. Adversities are stepping stones for newer heights through resilience.   

 This period was  also  about human pain such as reverse migration, loss of employment, economical difficulties, being helpless and stranded at foreign places, social distancing etc. Even in such dire circumstances the artists kept their love for art alive. The lack of availability of art materials made them look for alternate mediums. Art were created even at the isolated condition. This trend of resilience was expressed in different forms and ways through many artists in India and abroad. A few artists expressed their view regarding the current situations.

 

The first thing that comes to mind is that the artist lived this experience in his own country so we had different levels of danger.  Obviously I can talk about Italy.  Here with us most of the artists have experienced this moment of isolation as a challenge with themselves. I am stronger than Coronavirus and my art will never be stopped.  I have purchased 10 canvases and I painted every day for many hours and I have produced very special paintings .... 

Italian Artist Claudio Giulianelli 

 

 Claudio Giulianelli

A painting on Corona by Claudio Giulianelli

American artist Rick Hunt says: For me,creating art pretty much is a solitary event. I am feeling OK with the isolation because it doesn't feel like isolating myself,it is more the glory of SOLITUDE...My art and my creative process is meditation...the act of creating is a "ritual" that creates order out of chaos (whether it be located inner or outer...)...My favorite subject matter is "people". When drawing I am never alone...So, Isolating during this pandemic does not bother me so much. I usually am up at 4:00 in the morning to draw anyway!..I have not been focused on selling my work Bindu, for many years. I am content to present it so people can have a dialogue with it...I DO enjoy having my work published as books though and it is satisfying to me to see images gathered in a compact portfolio that people can hold and take their time with...I draw every day and during any free moment...My art has not been affected by the pandemic...

 

Rick Hunt

A painting on Corona by Rick “ Do not cough in my face” 

-       

The art market in Udaipur is affected by the slowdown due to corona. Udaipur is a tourists city and all handicraft ant art shop's are closed.  Most of art gallery are permanently closed. In corona time as Iam a teacher I was on duty at the District Corona control room duty in 3 shifts. One online sculpture camp was  done. Hope soon I will get one project. So for me it  is OK. " Hemant is a stone sculptor from Udaipur and works generally in large pieces of stones like granite, marble etc.

 

Some of the beautiful sculptures done by Sculptor Hemant Joshi during the Corona time

Hemant Joshi turning the stones to beauties

Fulgor Silvi does installations with the works of other artists who provide him their paintings, to be stuck to his beard. His intention is to display art anywhere, by shattering the concepts of galleries and specific spaces to display art. The installations are made with the works of Alfonso Caccavale. Fulgor is the owner of the PERFORMAMCE BEARD GALLERY. He is the Artist who becomes Gallery ... with his own beard (Hanging Gallery).

Fulgor Silvi, Performance artist and Gallery owner, PERFORMAMCE BEARD GALLERY, Italy.

Through all this stage what stood out was the resilience of artist’s or cultural heritage practitioners. Most of them continued with their art work from the comfort of their homes. This in some cases meant lack of space and seclusion. Some artists who used to do their paintings in large canvases shifted to small works. While some artists  were constantly working on their incomplete works. others created new works. Some artists who had difficulty to obtain paint or other materials required for making their art works, shifted to other easily available materials as well as unusual medium. Art came up in medium ranging from cooked chapati’s to masks. Just like the ‘Chekkuty’ dolls made from the damaged yarns of Chendamangalam after the flood in Kerala in 2018, painted masks became a rage with people. Folk art such as Madhubani were the quick to reach out to people in revamped and economical utility items as per the need of the time.  Adaptability of such art forms to the changing times can be seen as the reason for their popularity and reason for their survival.

This pandemic, the lockdowns etc. have atleast for now shattered  the traditional business model of  galleries and outreach of the artists. The unnecessary formal canonicality place for or of Art just vanished in the upsurge in the online outreach events. Curators/ Galleries have come up with ideas such as webinars, online workshops and online exhibitions. Artists grabbed this opportunity.  The spirit of resilience of artists is seen to its utmost expression in this year, amidst the tough times. 

 

Edited version of this article featured in the malayalam monthly magazine Eyuthu in its September 2020 edition. The following are the pictures of it:

 

- Bindu P V

Narayana Bhattathiri and Malayalam Calligraphy art

About Narayan Bhattathiri and his Works:

Narayana Bhattathiri is a malayalam caligraphy artist, who has exhibited his works in India and abroad.

His workshops were organized at:

Kochi Biennale 2016-17,

Callifest, Navi Mumbai,

Trivandrum, Kochi, Thrissur and Kozhikode.

He was the Festival Director of the First National calligraphy Festival of Kerala in 2019.

Bhattathiri is the receipient of the Jikji Excellence Award in International Calligraphy for 2017 and 2018.

Calligraphy work permanently exhibited in the Calligraphy Stone park, Harbin, China.

A Novel based calligraphy series (30 works) permanently exhibited in Thrazak, Palakkad, Kerala, India.

He is a regular participant at the International TypoDay Conferences for the past couple of years, and has been part of various upcoming calligraphy workshops all around the country.

Bhattathiri's Calligraphy:

In Malayalam, the romance with the alphabet has a long history; it can be found in the various palm leaf manuscripts, and later in early stone types, block prints etc. before it blossomed in print. Written, painted and printed words are a ubiquitous presence in Kerala; our public spaces are inundated with words; there are graffiti on all the walls, posters and billboards on the pillars and posts stare at us from all around. With the apparently varied ‘choice’ of fonts and the ‘freedom’ to adapt and adopt, the encounter with the shape and size, gravity and lightness, tone and tenor of the alphabet became mechanical and ‘ordinary’, over the years. Bhattathiri’s word art is an attempt to re-enchant the romance with alphabets, reinvigorating the encounter with new energies, aesthetics and playful flights.

This exhibition presents a miniscule selection from the thousands of titles that Bhattathiri has designed and drawn over the last four decades. He brings to Malayalam alphabet art a new vigour and endless innovations, by working his way through the contours and margins, the twists and turns, the dots and vowls of Malayalam alphabets. He recreates the awe and wonder of that primal encounter between meaning and word, the abstract signification and the concrete form and shape of the alphabet. His art practice is one that works with, through and around the tense and arbitrary, but deeply resonant relationship between the word and its meaning, the alphabet and its sound.

Never a conformist to any style or school, he is vibrantly eclectic in his approach to his art of shaping and moulding alphabets, curling and straightening, flourishing and chiseling them into affects, meanings, emotions, always creating, a visual impact of a visceral and striking kind. In this process, he freely plays with forms and styles – sometimes they are minimal, muted and rigid, other times, flowery and flamboyant, emotional and loud.

If one browses through the thousands of word designs created by Bhattathiri, one will be astounded by their variety. His designs approach and negotiate with the alphabet in a profound manner; alphabets and words are not mere potential objects of ‘beauty’ or defined functionality for him; instead his art intensely engages with the meanings, sign values, sound, genre (story, novel, film), and space (magazine, book, paper, poster..); these factors decide the size, shape, strokes, texture, and medium of his art work. Looking at his works, one feels the word-forms emerging out of meanings, movements, sound, affects, emotions, bhava and rasa associated with them.
He uses the alphabet styles of various languages and cultures – their shape, size, flow, serifs, ascenders, descenders, stems, finials, apex, brackets, leaps and loops, to adopt, coax and caress them into Malayalam alphabets. As a result, one can find in his work traces of postures and slants, the flows and joints of Chinese, Arabic, Sanskrit, Hindi, etc; they are employed to animate words to resonate with their cultural/linguistic roots and to make them converse with Malayalam. Likewise, his ambigrams are ‘alphabetic flights of imagination’, they are complex and fascinating creations that combine meaning and form in inimitably playful ways.

Bhattathiri’s words and alphabets rain, burn, flow, flicker, fly, fall, slide, float, frown, smile, giggle, ponder, worry and flutter, in tune with the trajectories of the denotations and connotations, that illuminate and ignite their semiotic, indexical and symbolic energies.

 

Three of Narayana Bhattathiri's Malayalam Calligraphy Works:

 

A few links to read further about his works: 

 

His beautiful malayalam calligraphy works have featured in movies, and even recently in the  Calligraphy event dedicated to the National Anthem

Kalakaumudi news report about the Calligraphy event dedicated to the National Anthem , can be viewed at the following link.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=al-wFCU2P0g&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR1E-6pvMsC6uURk0qE9aSowwQsXvz7wp2DJHgkk1I6YCrTOid4R0IB5_bw

 

He also did calligraphy works based on the novel at Thasrak, the village in Palakkad made famous by OV Vijayan’s seminal work, Khasakkinte Ithihasam, to mark the golden jubilee year of the book. For more details, please read the news by The Hindu:

 

https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/art/artist-bhattathiris-tribute-to-ov-vijayans-khasakkinte-ithihasam-through-his-calligraphy/article29278686.ece?fbclid=IwAR2MJWMD17_KCJvYysKCb3vgppUKVe5cI4xxRFdsEkafHsv30KAmZzexS4s

Said Elatab and his daughter

Said Elatab is an Arab American visual artist born in Bierut, Lebanon. He came to the United States in 1979 as a young aspiring artist hoping to make achievements as great as his role model, the famous Khalil Gibran- (writer, poet and visual artist).

By the tender age of 15, Said's interest in visual art became more of his obsession. He studied the works of great artists such as Van gogh and Picasso. Van Gogh's works so impressed the artist that he painted the starry night in Jerusalem to show his admiration for the great work. Said says " The one that inspired me the most was Van Gogh. He was a miserable artist. He received great failures in the pursuit of his fame. Unfortunately he sold only one piece of art before he died and never got any rewards of being famous. Another artist I admire very much is Francis Bacon. An artist who lasted through 6 decades. He too, died a miserable artist, a homo sexual, an alcoholic. Before committing suicide, he was able to leave behind many famous works of art, such as the one called "Crucifixion". I want to paint with passion always."
It took a few years for said to develop his art and making his style. His style has a middle eastern influence combined with the influence of his role models. Like Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, Said became affixed with the face of his love, which reflects in some of his paintings. His passion to express pain of this relationship is represented in some of his best works. His world revolved around his muse, and his loved ones. The angst of losing ones dear ones is when a person comes closer to the concepts of detachment. Some of his beautiful works were lost forever like the loss of one's precious part of soul, in such a state...
The human plight around also makes itself visible in some of said's works on the corona pandemic. The artist has been working for around 45 years by now. His works are exhibited in the galleries of United States and Lebanon. Said also worked as a war photographer during the Civil War in Lebanon and the war in Afghanistan. He also became a photographer for Paparazzi. He now has turned to his passion for oil paintings.

Choice for Curator's Pick: The pleasures and turmoils the artist saw and endured in his life plays a hide and seek in the subjects of his painting. It has a masculine expression of woman's feelings/expressions. Sensuality too pops up in a few of the works. But apart from all this, the strength in which the artist stood up during adversities and lives ... This exhibition is also meant as a memoir for his children, especially to his brave Amar Elatab. 

Article on Said Elatab, by Bindu P V in the Malayalam Monthly Magazine, 'Prasadakan'

Roy Mathew Thottam Sj

Born in 1965, Roy Mathew Thottam has an educational concotion of being graduation in economics , post graduations in folk lore (MA in Folklore, M S University, Thirunelveli) and Fine Arts (MA in Fine Art- Painting, Canterbury Christ Church University, UK). Some of his important painting exhibitions are:
2003- German Lutheran Church, Delhi,
2008- Sydney Cooper Art Gallery, Canterbury, UK
2008- St. Katharine Hospital art Gallery, Unna, Germany
2010- Church Art galleries in Munich, Gottingen, Frankfurt , Aachen in Germany
2008 - Canterbury Art Fair 2008, England (group show)
2009- Green Orange Art Gallery, Kochi
2012- Embassy of Hungry, New Delhi (group show of Art i)
2011- Kerala Lalitha Kala Academy , Trissur (group show of Art i)
2014 – ‘The Quest’, painting exhibition, Durbar art Gallery, Kochi
He has conducted many art workshops and art appreciation courses. He wrote many columns and articles on art in various periodicals and publications and is editor for a literary and cultural magazine- 'Ezhuthu’. He has also written 'A study on Kerala church murals', and contributed articles on Kerala Church mural tradition in national and international publications.

Artist's Statement - Artistic Process

‘Art is not about art’ said British artist Cecil Collins. Art is about everything and about nothing. It is there in our life in both ordinary and extraordinary realms.
I am interested in the psychic and spiritual process involved in creative activity. There is an urge in everybody to get in touch with our real ‘self’ and to give expression to it. For me it is a journey towards the ultimate freedom of the ‘Self’ which I consider as a spiritual process. Spiritual is that impulse within us to transcend ourselves and our experiences; and an urge to go beyond the obvious to the ‘true and pure’. Art itself is a process of going beyond.
‘The vocation of the artist is to create vision and the purpose of vision is to awaken man’s real self, for in art there is a hidden inviolate instinct for freedom, for eternity’ (Cecil Collins).
Now a day the modern world has made us too false to ourselves. The individual has lost identity in the post modern society and is faced with inner chaos and vacuum. It is the challenge of modern man to search true self in between these realities; as Donald Kuspit says,‘ to make art is to be caught in a trap- in a vicious closed circle of creative birth and death- the rebirth of authentic selfhood and the living death of self falsification’ (Kuspit, Signs of Psyche in Modern adn Post Modern Art, 1993, p. 178).
Artist’s inner world of feelings and emotions, at times conflicting and complementary, become more important than any subject. Art transforms crisis into creative freedom, it becomes a life giving force. It is a process of liberating our Self from the social disguises and pretensions, revealing it in all its expressive nakedness. Expressions with certain madness reveal the primitive depth of the psyche.
- Roy M.Thottam SJ

Govind Viswas

Govind Vishwas from Bhopal, did his Masters of Visual Arts (MVA) in Painting, Bachelors in Visual Arts from The Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda 2010-2012. He has also studied Bachelors of Fine Arts from Govt. Institute of Fine Arts, Indore(GIFA). Govind has co-curated and participated in many group shows and workshops and conducted many solo shows.

He has won the prestigious Pollack Krasner Foundation Grant Award, New York, USA 2012 and in 2018.
His works are present in:

• Govt. institute of fine arts, Indore.
• ITM university, Gwalior
• Private collection in, Bhopal.
• Collection at Bharat bhavan museum, Bhopal.
• Collection at Rajeev sethi private museum , New Delhi
• Austria, London, USA, Bangalore, Mumbai, Baroda

Artist's statement:

My work is oriented to the exploration of natural phenomena and their impact on the physical environment. The relationship between growth and transformation and the complexity of the structures they engender, guide my practice. My earlier works based on time and space. The brand logos and various other symbols we come across, suggest some directions, time, volume or scale. The imagery is suggestive of landscape elements and textures with multiple readings. Forms are used to express aspects of reality or failings, which other can easily connect to visual forms, are also a kind of language that people connect to more easily.
My works Space is important to me, and in my life. My family also faced re-habitation during the separation of Bangladesh in 1971. I heard lots of story form my grandmother. My earlier works based on time and space. The brand logos and various other symbols we come across, suggest some directions, time, volume or scale. The imagery is suggestive of landscape elements and textures with multiple readings.
Just the way we learn a written and spoken language, so do we learn a visual language. Culture plays an important part in this.
A map is a visual representation of an area. Maps may represent real or imaginary space. They may be dynamic, interactive, two or three dimensional. In many images, some maps represent real, physical space which exist and some don’t.
Most of my new works are also related to personal space and incidents. They reflect various issues that I have been dealing with.
Land has been in focus in my family for reasons of dispute.
I work on many pieces at the same time. I go back and making installations, wall works and drawings. I work either in small or big scale. I feel that this organic process of making things, allows me to do research, to challenge myself and to renew my work constantly. I get my inspiration through nature, architecture and design. Following the phenomena of the universe, I induce movement in materials in order to create natural architectonics. I focus on their specific properties color, structure and plasticity through manipulations layering for growth and accretion. The fluidity of molten rubber is symbolic of the ease of living and various life processes, it also conveys movement. Spatial temporaity is a recurring motif in these with motley objects in unknown hybrid environment pulsating with raw energy.

Anirban Sheth

      The beginning of 20^th century saw a trend to revive the crafts in Bengal. One of the arts revived in the period was the leather art work, in the areas near Shantiniketan. Rabindranath Tagore and his wife his wife Protima Devi, along with artists like Nandlal Bose, and craftsmen inspired the youth to practice this craft and be innovative in it. The leather craft of this area has embossed patterns and batik work is done on the leather. These leather craft uses embossed batik painting along with traditional patterns.  The handcrafted leather of this region which is available in different colours, patterns and with traditional motifs, is famous. This is a distinct trait of this leather craft which is world famous today for their artistry as Shantinikentan leather craft.  This craft inspired Anirban Sheth, an Calcutta based artist who grew up watching batik images crafted on leather by artisans at Sriniketan, an extension of Santiniketan.

Anirban started painting when he was 16 years old. He is a first class graduate & master degree holder from Government College of Art & Craft, Calcutta University. He took the craft of Shantiniketan leather art to a different level, where the craft has turned to art pieces. According to Ratnottama Sengupta, ARTS EDITOR, THE TIMES OF INDIA,  “Albrecht Durer is known to have executed some memorable images on vellum. African and Australian Aboriginal artists continue to use it as a mode of their creative expression. Indonesia, and Malayasia, used it to create aesthetic figuration.” Leather puppets were used in south Indian states for the performance of Tholpavakoothu, Bommalata etc. Anirban has done Twenty solo exhibitions along with various invited group shows in different galleries all over India & abroad. He has received twenty one special awards including –“ AMERICAN ART Award 2018” [6th Rank], West Bengal State Award for painting from Prafulla Dahanukar Art  in 2018,   Mridula Lunker Award-2014 by  “ICAC Gallery” [International Contemporary Art Centre, Mumbai] in 2014,  Oriental Art Society Award in 2003,  Prestigious Camlin Art Foundation, East Zone Award, (Professional Category) Kolkata, with award money in 2001 etc. His collections are in places like- Jehanjir Art Gallery [Mumbai], Birla Academy (Kolkata),Lee-Alison Sibley[U.S. Consul general ],Mani Ratnam [Eminent  Film Director], Art World(Chennai),Aurodhan Art Gallery(Pondichery), Tata Steel, Emami Limited,  Marble Palace (Kolkata),  British Deputy High Commission & Many Private, Corporate & Institutional collections, Like – India & Abroad  [ like- USA, UK, CANADA, PARIS, GERMANY, RUSSIA, HONGKONG, SPAIN, SINGAPORE, THAILAND, BANGLADESH, JAKARTA etc]. His exhibits have been highly appreciated among the art critics and media and also from “GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS”, London. U.K. [ Membership Number:24492, Claim ID: 32422].

 

Why did he choose this medium?

Anirban was attracted to Shantinikentan leather craft. He was fascinated by the special effect that one is able to create on leather but cannot create on paper or canvas His unique way of painting on the leather comes from much research. The leather is the support of the painting. It also forms a inherent texture which is heightened by special techniques such as batique painting, embossing etc. He heightens every accidental effect through the use of leather paint on creased or crumpled goat or sheep leather. He uses the leather of smaller animals which is vegetable tanned or chrome tanned and is unfinished. He is building on the natural sturdiness of camel hide, and striving to enlarge its scope by using substitutes. The leather is dipped in water in a tub for some time. Then it is taken out and rolled with rolling pin to make it smooth and then dried. Using a modular (a frame), he sketches on the leather. He paints on it in the tie and dye or batik process or with Indian ink or charcoal etc. He dosent use brushes to paint. His finger tips smeared with colors becomes his brush, when he paints. These paintings remind the onlooker about the beautiful Ajantha murals. At times he uses gold and silver foils to enhance the paintings. Stencilling is also done for embossing and relief effects. Once painted a preservative material is applied which protects it from fungal infection and enbrittling. The Medium of painting is not only time-consuming and laborious. His ingenuity is working on newer ways of tanning so that he can overcome the natural handicaps of the medium that develops fungus in monsoon. 

           Anirban creates images from life and nature, spirituality and rationality. One of his subject for these paintings is “Do not Destroy Nature & Environment”. He promotes animal rights and voices environmental concerns through these works. Humans plunder nature for materialistic gains. We must need to concern and protect our environment. He has also done painting on the current corona pandemic. The painting of a wild animal on a plate with knife and fork next to it, depicts the human tendency to devour wild life and which can result in pandemics. He is vocal about environmental issues such as mobile towers resulting in damage to lives of sparrows. He also portrays female beauty on the leather.

 

These paintings are as safe as canvases. They too need the same precaution and security as like any organic artefact. If kept near moist area or exposed to heat and light it can damage the object. But if kept in optimum climatic conditions, it remains in good condition for long time. These products when have to be transported or sold abroad have to follow the same customs restrictions and legal processes as like any animal product, and the legal documents supporting such purchase or transport of objects have to be there. These are one of the good examples of how with a little innovation and research crafts can be made into beautiful artworks.

Sushman Kadavil

Sushman Kadavil, is an eminent photographer from India, who has won 27 national prizes/awards and 69 state prizes. He is working as a photographer since past 38 years.
The series of works exhibited here belongs to his collection titled 'Jala-rekhakal' ('Water Streaks'). He have captured these images through experimenting and observation by using diesel or oil mixed in water, or the marks of water at beach caused by the ebbs and flow of waves, in parched land etc. These images not just talks about environmental issues like water crisis, but also carry vibes along with aesthetics.