PAPER SHOWMAN VINAY SHARMA

PAPER SHOWMAN 

VINAY SHARMA

Vinay Sharma’s installation 'Rhythmic Past'at the Government museum,23rd September,2019 to 25th October, 2019 Sector 10, transports the viewer to a setting in bygone era of  Rajasthan. The installation comprising of human figures; men, women, children, recreate a scene from the past. Vinay has a penchant for old radios. His private collection comprises of 350 old radios, many of them in working condition. Here on display are 40 -50 radios, old parchment, quill, ink pot and his own paintings on canvas. These different memorabilia create an interesting interplay of form and space. A figure is strategically placed on the first floor and a roll of paper hangs down creating a movement for the eye, reflecting his astute vision to connect different levels.

Vinay sensitivity as an artist and creative ability came across in the 

audio visual presentation held in Mini Tagore Theatre ,25th September,2019 Chandigarh. He sheds insight on his technique of paper making, printing (oil based serigraphy), various painting media and themes he experiments in.

Hailing from a small village of Rajasthan, the rural village colours, 

textures and sounds resonate in his work. Popularly known as 

paper-man he dresses up with paper, truly a spectacle… a paper 

showman in the art world.

 

19’S COLLISION

THE 19’S COLLISION

The Chandigarh Lalit Kala Academy continuing with number play, heralded the start of workshop of 19 artist at the CKLA Open Hand Art Studio at the Le Corbusier centre, Sector 19, Chandigarh on 19th of November, 2019.

The three day workshop had artist from Chandigarh and various other places converge on the front lawn of the centre providing an ideal setting for the artist work.

The artist’s canvas brought forth varied moods and array of themes. The serene setting of the environ sets nature as a muse for the artwork of Ram Vrinjan and Ashwani Verma. Ram Vrinjan’s composition ‘Man and nature’ with figures juxtaposed among flora and fauna, the vibrant hues of red and  blue balanced with flecks of white and daubs of yellow. Ashwani’s peacock and female figures crane upwards, caught between the myriad of colour blocks.

Sadhana’s birds perched on the boulders take in the the sound of cascading waterfall. The symphony of sound seems to resonate in this rhapsody in lilac, the artist in tune with nature, synchs colours and composition at a higher plane in her art work. ‘Love and peace’ by Vinay Vadhera has an overall feel of spirited lightness. The figure embracing a heart floats among the clouds and the doves of peace with an air of harmony.

Paper boats make their way on placid waters of Sanjay Jathar canvas, their aerial view  give a three dimensional aspect to the composition  providing an interesting interplay of spaces . Giving rise to flight of fancy, the paper boat and paper planes create a vivid imagery to depict the minds of the headless figures of Anand Shende’s canvas. The muted pastel colours create a sublime effect.

 Two staid bright coloured women with dog alongside, glance through a detailed pattern frame ,the dark night depicted with crescent moon and an owl in Daphys ‘Bonnie, Amrit and Layla’. The city Chandigarh seems to enrapture Balwinder, the commotion and chaos of traffic and waves of technology engulf the sparrow fountain anchored as wind wane. The bright complimentary flat colours add a certain vibrancy in the painting. ‘Where trust is alive’ by Anup, the deer darts forth providing a diagonal movement ,while a flight of birds takes off  in the other direction ,the staid monolithic  human construction juts upward , posing a question to mankind .Nakshadeep brings in the winter setting with a snowy landscape of a quiet hamlet.

Tanja ushers in a freshness of form and colour in her composition. The artists have all created pieces of art worth a visit to the centre.

'MAN AND NATURE'-RAM VIRANJAN

FEEL OF NATURE-ASHWANI VERMA

'LOVE AND PEACE'-VINAY VADHERA

'AATHANG'-SANJAY JATHAR

ANAND SHENDE

'OPEN HAND'- BALWINDER

'WHERE TRUST IS ALIVE'-ANUP KUMAR CHAND

'UNTITLED'-NAKSHDEEP SINGH

'UNTITLED'-TANJA DJOKIC

'UNTITLE'-BODASINGU RAVIKIRAN

'UNTITLED'-SHARAD SONKUSALE

'UNTITLED'-TASLIM JAMAL

'UNTITLED'-BHANUPRAKASH

UNTOLD STORIES MADHU

UNTOLD STORIES

MADHU

Madhu’s art work show uninhibitedness and frankness that speak of a self -trained artist. This adds a special quality to her art works; of freshness and an unleashed freedom of expression. Her series on women oppression speak and beckon, behind closed bars to tell their story, that get reflected through the medium of colour. Their anguish and agony expressed  through ,even in the small sized art works.

Madhu even as a child would find refuge in art. Her childhood visit to her grandparent’s house in Dehradun had her exploring new medium in nature, she would often use the bark of pine trees to colour her world of fantasy. After her husband’s demise to overcome depression, she took solace in art to overcome depression.

Her landscape series show a happy carefree world with azure blue skies dotted with white clouds floating in happiness, the landscape below; with flowers blooming, rivers meandering and birds chirping in trees. There is no attempt to mix the colour palette; the rich intense colours endowing a vibrancy to her compositions.

An octogenarian filled with enthusiasm, her first art show, reflects her zest for art and life. She has in brevity managed to convey her thoughts: in nature with childlike glee and with equal deftness handled sombre subjects of despairing women, telling their untold stories.

38 IN 38-'A SPLASH OF COLOR'

18th September 2019 saw the coming together of 38 Chandigarh women artists to exhibit their art works under one roof. Rani Laxmi Bai Bhawan ,Sector 38 –C, was the venue .The event started with soul stirring music by Chandigarh Community based music group Soul’s Diet. It was a grand show organised to mark the inaugural show of Chandigarh Lalit Kala at this particular venue,’38 women artists in sector 38’.   

The exhibition was an eclectic mix of various techniques, medium and style used by the women artisan .There were acrylic paintings, prints, pencil and charcoal drawings, photographs, tapestry and sculptures. The themes were varied .Works of many eminent city artists were on display; Sadhana, with her zesty birds and nature theme is always a visual delight, Heidi’s digitally touched photograph clicked at Naggar, of the lofty Himalayas had an awe aspiring appeal. Navpreet’s painting of women figure in dialogue with a cat had a haunting demeanour; holding interest here in this work is the crescent moon that peeps in through the window. Aradhana's  painting have a mystic feel, in warm tones the female figure looms large, looking skyward holding the houses/town  in an embrace, Sonal’s bedtime stories with its colors that conjure a fairy-tale world with snowflakes, Christmas trees and reindeer's moving into the frame, resounds with the tinkling bells of Santa’s sleigh. Daphy’s palette of bright colors take on a softer hue in her water color ‘Branded’. Hers is almost a trance like vision in this painting composed of a woman and a bird, made with repetitive patterns and motifs.

There is wide array of visuals that meet the viewer, whether its collography by Jaskanwal, Chinese ink and gouache by Manjot, charcoal by Kavita, pencil by Anukriti, wood cut by Manisha , etching by Rashmita ,aquatint by Nutan, intaglio by Payal and the list goes on. All these speak high of the mastery of technique and thought evoked.

 Sculptures not to be outdone, women hold their sway in this medium in the exhibition. ‘Embrace’, wood sculpture by Gurmeet endowed with spatial quality depicts entwined forms, though used to her earlier colossal sculpture this has a diminutive bearing, though not in terms of quality of work .You are met me with rattling and clanking sounds as Shivani’s welded copper rider seemingly rides past you while Payal’s sculpture connects one to the serenity of nature filled with the sound of chirping of birds.  Ritu’s painting on fabric; ‘You, me and we …are like a flowing river’ joyously flutters heralding the women artists coming of age.

 Pimmi Khanna, who breathed her last at age of 81, was fondly remembered by the Chandigarh art fraternity, her paintings put on display.

PINK SEASON /ACRYLIC ON CANVAS/24X24 inches/SADHANA SANGER

EVENING RAGA//PHOTOGRAPHY/24X20inches/HEIDI SABRA

DIALOGUE/ACRYLIC ON CANVAS/24X36/NAVPREET KAUR

PAINTING BY ARADHANA TANDON

BED TIME STORIES/36X36 inches/SONAL SINGH

BRANDED/WATERCOLOR ON PAPER/20X20inches/DAPHY BRAR

EMBRACE/WOOD/15X4X4inches/GURMEET GOLDIE

PLAYFUL RIDE/WELDED COPPER/24X12X10 inches/SHIVANI SHARMA

MINGLING WITH NATURE III/MIX MEDIA AND ELEMENTS/24X24inches/HARINDER KAUR

YOU,ME AND WE ...ARE LIKE A FLOWING RIVER/MIX MEDIA/21X97inches/RITU M BANSAL

PARIKARMA- KALICHARAN GUPTA

The Chandigarh Lalit Kala Academy has started a new initiative, PARIKARMA, a Short Art Residency programme at Open Hand Art Studio at Le Corbusier Centre located in Sector- 19. Four eminent Delhi based artists, Mr Prem Singh, Mrs Shobha Broota, Mr Moti Zharotia and Mr Kalicharan Gupta are part of this residency started on 12^th September and ending on 15th September. Each day after the day’s artwork is done, these artists give an audio visual presentation about their work followed by an interactive session 

Kalicharan Gupta

Celebration galore

On the last and culmination day of Parikarma, 15 th September 2019, Kalicharan Gupta gave an insight about his life and artworks.

His education and work brought him from a village in Haryana to the metropolis Delhi .Somewhere, this village lad seems to be seeking the space and refuge that gets constrained in the influx of population and growth of the metropolitan city.

His visit to Behrampur in Orissa, made an impact on his art style. He was taken in by the way the villagers stored their grain in one place and used it whenever they needed. This concept of sharing and a community living in peace and harmony struck a chord in him. His works started reflecting strong tribal influence. There are human figures, animals and birds, he seems to be representing the whole cosmos of life on his canvas. His earlier works were drawings in black and white; later the colour’s start to seep into his work.

His foray into abstract startled many. The tribal influence gave way to complete abstraction .He continued with his vertical lines following the drip technique. He lets the colour drip to make these lines vertical or horizontal, tilting the canvas at various angles to achieve the desired result. The three primary colours red, yellow and blue along with white predominate.

Through his work, he tries to bring the concern of unchecked growth of cities which is leading to utter chaos in terms of housing, traffic and even daily necessities. The rapid industrialization and development by builders taking away the green spaces of cities.

In most of his works there is no attempt at mixing colours. Out of small blobs of varied colours emerge huge vegetables, to represent the scarcity of food that is bound to hit sooner or later due to urbanization.

His visit to a Buddhist temple in Korea, brought about a certain quietness in his recent works. The colours seem to dim, a certain haze envelops these paintings, the greys come into play and bring about an essence of enlightenment.