BANGALORE: Indian art has been greatly influenced by its diverse culture and heritage. Art has always had a profound influence on us. A delicate blend of symbolism and reality — the essence of art has gone through a complete transition with respect to aesthetics over the years. Be it the medieval times, Mughal era or even the colonial rule, art in India has a mystical appeal to it. Seeking the purest form of beauty in divine spirit, artists have sought inspiration from the organic and sculptural significance of art time and again. Today, contemporary art in India has established its own identity in the creative spectrum. Aside from exploring the inner caverns of a sacred realm, artists have often found themselves delving deeper into the finer aspects of spirituality and consciousness. Celebrating this philosophical crusade of both traditional and contemporary art forms, the Contemporary Artist Circle presented An Exhibition of Paintings at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath recently.Shrouded in mystery, Subrata Kar’s Shakthi — the power (acrylic on board) series depicted the timeless grace of Indian women. The painting of a tigress, adorning the head of a woman with a snake wrapped around her hind limbs, symbolically constructed an expression of divinity. Depicted in a linear style, the two-dimensional structure of his works seemed to be heavily influenced by the ancient Kalighat paintings of Kolkata. The artist has also experimented with bold colours and dense compositions. The colour ‘red’ formed an integral part of all his paintings. With consistent strokes and deep lines, he has managed to strike a balance between mythology and abstract art. Woven around dynamic textures, his Nature series signified the transience of life. The flawless depiction of amber mermaids, multi-hued tulips and butterflies in this series seemed to tell a story about the interconnectedness of all beings.While some of Barun Deb’s works from the Mood series represented the turbulence of life beautifully, others had traces of passion and austerity. Be it the cup overflowing with vines and flowers, an intimate conversation between two crows or an open book, each of his works included dark moody expressions. With the transitory nature of his subjects, the artist has managed to capture the spirit of existence through basic shapes and patterns. On the other hand, though Siddhartha Karmakar exhibited fine technical skills with his series on Brand Addiction (mixed media on canvas), his paintings lacked cohesiveness in the conceptual sense. However, the artist’s works on defining the grotesque nature of mankind painted a different picture altogether. Through textured brushstrokes and innovative techniques, he created a staggering image of malformed creatures with great precision. Draped across a stark background, these paintings revealed a certain amount of hollowness in our existence. Showcasing a subliminal relationship between a man trapped in his own thoughts and nature, Sarbani Ganguly epitomised Kalidas’s poetry with her interpretation of Meghdhut (acrylic on canvas). Her paintings encompassed elements of mysticism and purity. Merging the primal beauty of contemporary art with the warmth of traditional art forms, she has recreated in tints of soft ochre a world brimming with divinity. Deep tones, irregular lines and rustic template of her paintings enabled her to create a focal point with respect to the philosophical aspects of her subjects. With the concept of symbiosis resonating in each of her works including Basudha and Binapani, the artist has successfully mastered the art of deep textures and spiritual enlightenment.Through layers of grunge textures and gloomy contours, Sanjay K R Bhattacharya constructed a meditative environment with a dark palette in his paintings. With Yogi (tempera on board), the artist chose earthy tones to signify the ominous presence of a celestial being. With spirituality being the primary subject, Sanjay fundamentally explored a differing concept of realism in his paintings. Likewise, Avisankar Mitra’s works including Ganga and Bhagirathi, The Saint and Sacred and Shree and Shree Durga attempted to express the inexpressible. Delving into a metaphysical realm, his paintings built a scene of solitude and serenity.Infusing dramatic tones with tenuous textures, Ashoke Dutta’s paintings of Buddha embodied an attitude of compassionate detachment. Through deliberate flattening of three-dimensional surfaces, the artist managed to draw parallels between individuality and the desire for supremacy. The heavy textured layers created an impasto effect and added new dimensions to his paintings. As the artist deftly daubed the canvas in hues of red, Buddha’s journey from a king to an enlightened man came alive through distorted tones and vibrant colours.
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