Layered Meanings - Ten leading Contemporary Artists Gallery Beyond Curated by Vibhuraj Kapoor

Layered Meanings - Ten leading Contemporary  Artists 

 

“The Legacy” An Exhibition of Photographs by veteran photojournalist Mukesh Parpiani

Legendary photojournalist Mukesh Parpiani’s need to chronicle the unusual began at a very young age when he first began to help his brother. His elder brother who was fascinated by photography, had a darkroom at home, and Mukesh used to wash his prints. Gradually, he began to work towards achieving this dream. He enrolled at the Pillai School of Photography (1969-1970), after which, he worked in wedding and travel photography. During this brief stint, he realised that his city has so many intermingled narratives to offer, whose ever-evolving nature is simply waiting to be chronicled.

Mukesh Parpiani

In 1981, Russi Karanjia, the Editor of The Daily, a morning newspaper in Bombay, offered him a job as their photographer.At The Daily, Parpiani photographed many political leaders and celebrities. Due to this, he became a familiar name in the journalism fraternity. Viveck Goenka, the Chairman and Managing Director of The Indian Express, who had been following Parpiani’s work and career, saw potential in his vision. Eventually, he decided to recruit Parpiani as the photo editor of The Indian Express’ seventeen editions. During his time there, he covered historical events of significance nationally and internationally.Mid-Day, an afternoon tabloid, who noticed Parpiani’s work as a photojournalist and editor, decided to offer him a job as the photo editor. It was the beginning of many things - the turn of the century as well as the tectonic shift of photographic technologies. Tariq Ansari, the Managing Director of the newspaper, gave Parpiani the liberty to develop the department as he needed. Parpiani, upon recognising the dawn of DSLRs, requested Ansari to acquire them for the photo department. Under his tutelage, many young individuals became renowned documentary photographers and photojournalists.

Parpiani curated his first photo exhibition in March 1989 at Piramal Art Gallery of NCPA. His penchant for curating photography exhibition gave him the opportunity to continue even after his retirement at the age of 58.

In 2009, Khushroo Suntook, Chairman of the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), offered him to head the Piramal Art Gallery. Suntook had been familiar with Parpiani’s work and entrusted him with the running of the gallery. For 14 years, Parpiani has single-handedly nurtured and educated the next generation of photographers. He has organised over 250 talks, workshops, exhibitions, and seminars to disseminate photography.

Parpiani has touched countless lives with his photographs while reforming countless more as a mentor. His strengths and humanity lie in his ability to mould the way we perceive Bombay, while his sensitivity and perceptiveness conquer the hearts of those fortunate individuals who have, knowingly or coincidentally, crossed paths with him 

Press Release

From: 17th to 30th January 2024

“The Legacy” An Exhibition of Photographs by veteran photojournalist Mukesh Parpiani

 

VENUE:

Jehangir Art Gallery,

Terrace Gallery,

Kala Ghoda, Mumbai 400 001.

Timing: 11am to 7pm

Contact: +91 8108003311

Transient Landscape_Retrospective Show of veteran artist Late Yashwant Shirwadkar

When we first look at Yashwant Shriwadkar's painting, we are drawn to a vibrant, expansive canvas, that capture the fleeting light and ever-changing atmosphere in nature. The tactile strokes play with the viewer's senses, delivering an effect of spontaneity and effortlessness while masking carefully constructed compositions. Each time you look at his canvas, a new feature appears, as if purposefully hidden by the artist under the masterfully blended colors. Deep yellow flashed in the night, pastel blue fading into midday, and pink melting in the morning sky. 

Veteran artist Late Yashwant Shirwadkar   

Shirwadkar perceived our world quite differently. For him, the seemingly mundane sights became compelling experiences,as a cascading waterfall or a majestic mountain peak. He simply painted the things he saw and felt, surrendering to the experiences and situations of the moment. He had no interest in depicting history, mythology, or the lives of great individuals. Instead, he attempted to capture how a landscape or an object appeared to him at a particular instant. Varanasi held a special fascination for him, leading to more than 18 visits to the mystical city. The gentle waters of the Ganges, the boat rides, the morning worship at the Ghats, as well as the majestic architecture has been aptly arrested by the artist. His artistic journey also encompassed landscapes from Kerala, Rajasthan, Kashmir, and Goa, along with large commission canvases like Hyde Park and the Gateway of India. 

Painting - RAJASTHAN - 36 x 60 in

Shirwadkar's approach of using a palette knife and building up layers in oil-on-canvas aligns with the textural and vibrant qualities often associated with impressionistic art. It's a technique that can evoke a sense of movement and atmosphere in landscape paintings. Each layer was painted on top of the previous without waiting for the earlier layer to dry completely. Rather than worrying about the technical accuracy of the painting, he went with the flow of his mood and created a sense of movement in the work. Seeing him work on the colors with palette knife is a sight to behold, almost beyond words to describe. The colors seemed to merge one into another, slowly shifting: yellow to orange and then red, and at times blue slowly turned into green and vice versa. 

Color and light played a profound role in Shriwadkar's painting process. Before painting on the canvas, he made several sketches on site, in the open, using sunlight as the only source of light. By using low chroma variations and rendering shadows in color, the artist skillfully captured the fleeting nuances of natural light.He also tried to emphasize the passage of time in his works. The paint was left unmixed, producing a contrast between strokes that didn’t blend completely on the canvas but appeared so to the eye. The deliberate choice to forgo intricate details in favor of bold paint strokes added to the overall impact of portraying the essence of the subject. 

Shirwadkar's oil-on-canvases garnered widespread acclaim, resonating not just with Indian audiences but captivating hearts globally. He received invitations to prestigious international platforms, such as sponsored exhibitions and notable events like the 42nd Anniversary Leadership Summit in Washington in 2017, showcasing the artist's recognition on a global scale. His path in visual art, however faced several obstacles, stemming from initial resistance within his family against pursuing a career in the fine arts. Undeterred by opposition, his passion for painting prevailed, leading him to stand firm on his decision despite strong familial objections. Eventually, Shirwadkarwent on to study at the renowned Sir J. J. School of Arts in Mumbai, marking a crucial step in his artistic journey. 

Painting- SEASCAPE - 36 x 60 in

Creating art was a form of Sadhana—a daily practice, for the artist. He painted regularly, shaping a distinctive style that involved the use of a palette knife and occasionally unconventional mediums such as a shaving blade. Even after achievingmastery over his technique, he continued to paint with awareness, discipline and intention of growth. Like a spiritual practitioner (sadhaka) heworked to achieve control over ego, connect deeper, and realign with his’s inner self. 

Spanning over 45 years, Shirwadkar’s prolific artistic career was marked by an impressive legacy of around 100 solo exhibitions and over 260 group shows both in India and internationally. Through this extensive body of work, he not only established a prosperous art career but also earned a prominent reputation in the art world before his passing in 2020.The enduring allure of his works, continue to generate curiosity and awe in the younger generations of artists as well as viewers. 

It is interesting to note that in his inaugural solo exhibition in 1977, Shirwadkar showcased watercolorseascapes. Employing a technique of blending watercolors to achieve a bleed and bloom effect, he crafted misty seascapes with soft, faded edges. Carefully playing with light contrast, he diluted and highlighted specific areas while leaving others dry, inviting light into the artwork. This technique skillfully evoked a vaporous atmosphere, adding a unique dimension to his early watercolors. 

Shirwadkar's approach to painting landscapes went beyond mere depictions of sites or anonymous figures. His focus delved into capturing the enveloping warmth and color of sunlight, not merely the physical surroundings. His art aimed to encapsulate the transformative impact of sunlight on the specific moments, highlighting the soul of the scene and its evolution through time and atmospheric changes.

Transient Landscape

-          By Shraddha Purnaye – Curator and Writer

 

From: 9^th to 15^th January 2024

Retrospective Show of veteran artist Late Yashwant Shirwadkar

VENUE:

Jehangir Art Gallery

Auditorium Hall

161-B, M.G. Road,

Kala Ghoda, Mumbai 400 001

Timing: 11am to 7pm

MGW 2024 | Areez Katki: As this melts on your knee at TARQ

About the Exhibition

The team at TARQ takes immense pleasure to introduce Areez Katki’s solo show titled As this chin melts on your knee. The exhibition presents a body of work created between 2022 and 2023, across the mediums of textile, paper and sculpture, delving deeper into Katki’s research and unfolding narratives. Exploring the tactile and sensuous nature of textiles has been a recurring focus in Katki’s practice over the past decade. As he gathers and repurposes old, found, and sometimes remnants of newer textiles, one can observe how each piece of cloth carries associations with material memory. These connections can be familial and deeply personal or, at times, reveal more political and historical threads.

Areez Katki Dream Valves, 2023 Kaolinite clay, raku, Caspian Sea sand Individual parts varied, total upon installation (base): 12.2 x 16.5 x 6.2 inches  Courtesy of Areez Katki and TARQ 

Through inquisitive research, Katki began studying the contents of Tablet IV from the Epic of  Gilgamesh, an ancient Mesopotamian odyssey. The narrative of the poem serves as the conceptual  tableau for Katki’s Oneiria series of embroidered panels, as well as their painted studies. Inspired by  Gilgamesh’s journey across an apocalyptic dreamscape with Enkidu, Katki exercised his own psychoanalytic dream-keeping journal where his anxieties of loss, death, and fear unfurled. 

Transcribing, illustrating, and embroidering these visions on khadi panels, Katki reveals his own surreal, often cinematic, visions interlaced with anxieties from a queer antecedent. Five Fragments, which precede the larger Oneiria panels, can be viewed as the artist’s early experiments with using Sumerian cuneiform—the language that the Epic of Gilgamesh was originally inscribed in four millennia ago. These panels are composed with cuneiform symbols which the artist has studied extensively, to form a glossary of unique phrases, made up of simple words that these compositions evoke both linguistically and pictorially. Extending his research around ancient Indigenous histories, Katki has closely examined what remains of Achaemenid art over the past seven years. The process began with an exploration of Persepolitan archives and propagated into a series of nine diptych works on paper. Eliminating scientific and archaeological precision, the works cite artifacts, architectural motifs and subjects from a destroyed and pilfered past, to now reframe and reimagine these histories in a series of enlivened polychromatic compositions.

Areez Katki Anointed 3: Saffron, 2023 Mixed media on Arches cotton paper 12.2 x 12.2 inches Copyright: Copyright Areez Katki, 2023

The newest addition to Katki’s visual language is his venture into three-dimensional earth-based forms where Kaolinite clay, a material sourced and processed from his mother’s garden in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, behaves as a cultural marker of geographic locationality. Katki’s fascination with archaeology and materials from the quotidian, often found and restored, has seen him venture into this arena of excavation and restoration that attempt to reframe the practice of archaeology as a pedagogy rooted in care.

Areez Katki Three clever boys, 2023 Watercolour on Arches cotton paper Top: 11.69 x 8.26 inches Bottom: 5.9 x 11.81 inches Diptych Copyright: Copyright Areez Katki, 2023

As articulated by Adwait Singh, who has written an essay accompanying the show, “Throughout the current body of work, we notice a use of history that can be termed queer. Katki deliberately hones  these unexpected and at times irreverent modes of accessing and mobilising the past perhaps as a  corrective to the differential resistance that the discipline has developed over the course of its established use. This resistance can prove particularly prohibitive to those in the margins who aspire to get their stories admitted into the high annals of history. Faced with systematic exclusions produced by inherent resistances that are as unforgiving as they are relentless, Katki seems to have come up with a reworked mandate: throw a wrench in history.”

Artist: Areez Katki 

About the Artist

Areez Katki's practice dwells around conceptual and material-based intersections which survey the phenomenology of postcolonial identities. Fragmentations of a migrant identity can be traced through objects and material culture, in the recesses of collective memories that host spiritual cosmologies and queering orientations. These relational embodiments and correspondences with materiality are underpinned in Sara Ahmed’s statement that, “Objects extend bodies, certainly, but they also seem to measure the competence of bodies and their capacity to ‘find their way’.” (‘The Orient and Other Others’ Queer Phenomenology 2006).

Navigating across disciplines and pedagogies, Katki’s practice looks toward generating deeper understandings of such affective material. His work also tends to pose questions around conditions such as hybridity, particularly through embodiments that have been subject to rupture. While investigative acts of gathering and conservation run throughout Katki’s nearly decade-long art practice, his writing contextualizes the repurposing of historic material through ongoing engagements with storied narratives and biomythography. Both practices examine the historic and the personal, using gestures which survey the nature of (our) relationships with sites and embodiments.

Katki's work has been exhibited across Oceania, Asia, North America and Europe. It is held in numerous public and private collections internationally. Katki has been invited to present a significant new body of work in ‘Personal Structures’ at the 60th Venice Biennale in 2024. He was recently appointed the Aotearoa NZ visual artist in residence at Künstlerhaus Bethanien Berlin for 2024–2025

As this chin melts on your knee

Areez Katki

TARQ

Preview: Thursday, 11th January 2024 | 5:00 – 9:00 pm 

Mumbai Gallery Weekend continues from Friday, 12th January – Sunday, 14th January, 11:00 am -

8:00 pm on all three days, Show continues till 24th February 2024 

Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 11:00 am to 6:30 pm 

For further enquiries contact: press@tarq.in | +91 98213 32108  #ArtistsAtTARQ.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tarqmumbai/ Instagram: @tarqmumbai Twitter: @tarqtweets

Layered Meanings - Ten leading Contemporary Artists

 Beyond the dictionary definitions of 'Painting' and 'Sculpture', is something that the artists define themselves. They refuse to be tamed by the limitations of the mediums, and device their own sense-making strategies. From Collage to wall-mounted sculpture, they challenge the hegemony of 'oil on canvas'. This show enumerates 10 such artists and their works, diverse from each other but definitive in their own way.

Curiously, the chronologically first works in this show are oils on canvas! 

Sunil Gawde, back in the days when he was known as an abstract painter, sought the 'real' physical dimension of the paint he used. Eventually, it seems, he made the thick paint smile! Gawde's thick paint was a reminder that resulted from his action-oriented way to deal with his canvas. He first spread his paint on his canvas evenly, but was quick to unstable it with a large spatula. These works represent an important phase in the artist's career, before he took to conceptual works.

Santana Gohain, builds spaces within a given surface with many smaller surfaces. The space-defining role of colour is negated in her works. The works are as much about austerity of expression as about abundance of mark-making.

Perhaps Vanita Gupta explored the same path of subdued expression in her large drawings but here, her works with strands of torn paper ruminate on the very existence of mark-making, the senility of paper. No wonder that Vanita, who is also a poet, took to installation art only after these works.

Another artist who has passed his mid-career stage- H. G. Arunkumar, is here with his works that are now one of a kind: Arunkumar chose to do newspaper collages, but went on to draw over it and also added another layer of collaged images onto it, before treating these works for longevity.

Pooja Iranna's works are, if we may say- 'De-Collage', as they refer to one image painted on the jigsaw-like pieces. A mural-like quality is inherent in these works, after which Pooja turned to sculptures.

Himanshu Joshi explores every possibility of wall-mountable three-dimensional works, while using the element of light in his meticulously crafted paper-fold works. Recently, Himanshu has also turned to photo-collages with light. 

Puneet Kaushik is known for his choice of colour as much as his use of beads and elements of embroidery. His wall-mounted works radiate the richness of his material, and at a closer look, evoke a melancholic joy.

Abhijit Pathak treats pieces of cloth as his terrain and marks his mindscapes over them. The transparency he maintains is flawless. Pathak provides a viewer with maps to her/his dreams.

Nilesh Kinkale, on the other hand, celebrates the ground reality; literally. He chooses a unique surface for art-making: Asphalt, commonly used for our roads. Nilesh's practice for nearly two and half decades has been based on celebrating the everyday, as many artists from Mumbai (since Prabhakar Barwe) have done. Yet, Nilesh works on his own terms and takes ample liberty to go beyond drawing-and-painting the everyday object. These objects are now embedded in Asphalt.

Smita Kinkale reconciles the mundane material with fantasy landscapes. She bends, burns and blurs plastic sheets for her wall mounted works. The potential of her works to challenge the aesthetic notions is acknowledged internationally.

What binds these works is the quest for meanings. While these works may not send some explicit messages to a viewer who is eager to 'get it and go'; the artists have explored possibilities of their surfaces and materials to an extent that they know what it means to handle such a surface. The term 'layered meaning', is typically used in postmodern parlance to denote the diversity in decipherment. The artists, through their diverse approaches and choices, have all deciphered the strengths of their choice.

Abhijeet Tamhane

Mumbai. December 2023

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Layered Meanings - Ten leading Contemporary  Artists 

Gallery Beyond

Curated by Vibhuraj Kapoor

Abhijit Pathak / Arunkumar H.G / Himanshu Joshi / Pooja Iranna / Puneet Kaushik /

Nilesh Kinkale / Santana Gohain  / Smita Kinkale/ Sunil Gawde  / Vanita Gupta /

Date: 9th to 15 th  Jan 2024  Time: 11am to 7pm 

Venue: Jehangir art gallery

AC -2 , Kala Ghoda, Fort 400 001, Mumbai - India

www.gallerybeyond.in

#jehangirartgallery #vibhurajkappor #gallerybeyond #kalaghodamumbai #mumbaiartweekend

Layered Meaning - Curated by Vibhuraj Kapoor

 

"Layered Meaning "

Curated by Vibhuraj Kapoor

Ten leading Contemporary  Artists 

Abhijit Pathak

Arunkumar H.G

Himanshu Joshi

Pooja Iranna

Puneet Kaushik

Nilesh Kinkale

Santana Gohain 

Smita Kinkale

Sunil Gawde 

Vanita Gupta

Date: 9th to 15 th  Jan 2024  Time: 11am to 7pm 

Venue: Jehangir art gallery

AC -2 , Kala Ghoda, Fort 400 001, Mumbai - India

www.gallerybeyond.in

#jehangirartgallery #vibhurajkappor #gallerybeyond #kalaghodamumbai #mumbaiartweekend 

mumbaigalleryweekend

 

Yellow: Weekend

 

"Harmony in Hues” An Artful Journey An Exhibition of Paintings By well-known artist Deepak B. Patil

The exhibition "Harmony in Hues" by renowned artist Deepak Patil is being held at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, from January 1 to 7, 2024. Deepak Patil has been practising realistic paintings for many years, gaining dominance in the field with his realistic depictions influenced by various mediums. Despite the challenges of using oil, acrylic and watercolours, Patil has excelled in captivating art enthusiasts with intricate details in his realistic artworks

This show will be inaugurated on 1st January 2024 at 5 pm by the Honorable Guest Shri. Yashwant Jadhav Shiv Sena Deputy Leader, Former BMC Standing Committee Chairman, South Mumbai and Shirdi Lok Sabha Sampark

Artist: Deepak B. Patil.

Pramukh, Mrs Yamini Yashwant Jadhav (MLA Byculla), Mrs Rimple Bhavesh Parekh Designated Partner Shaurya Arts LLP Notably, Deepak Patil's expertise extends beyond realistic paintings and nature art; he has successfully utilized mixed media and watercolours to depict the rich cultural life of Rajasthan. His unique approach to portraying the distinctiveness of the region within the realm of art has garnered widespread admiration. Patil's art transcends even in challenging mediums like oil, acrylic, and watercolours, he has left an indelible mark. His exceptionally detailed depictions of the Himalayan landscape, rich in nature and spirituality, showcase his mastery in watercolour and mixed medium. The unique use of colours in his paintings has resonated well with art connoisseurs, making this exhibition a display of unparalleled discovery. In addition to his prowess in traditional art, Deepak Patil has made notable contributions to the field of animation.From projects like "Hanuman" and"Sherlock Holmes" to studios such as"Silvertune," "Crest," and "Illusion" in Mumbai, as well as working on serials like "King" through "Escortoon" in Delhi, Patil has left an imprint in the animation industry.

Focusing solely on the canvas, Patil's art became a symphony of colours, captivating art lovers globally, In 2019, at the 'Olympia Art' International Competition, India, led by Patil, secured first place and a gold medal in'Composition and Landscape, triumphing over Russia.Since 2007, Patil has dedicated his full time to the world of art. He is an active member of the Sanskar Bharati organization. He has participated in the spot landscape study tour organized by Art Society of India under the guidance of Shri Vasudeo Kamath and Vijay Aachrekar(eminent artists). Deepak Patil has earned accolades in national and international competitions.

Recent work by Deepak B. Patil

 From: 1^st to 7^th January 2024

"Harmony in Hues”

An Artful Journey

An Exhibition of Paintings

By well-known artist Deepak B. Patil

 

VENUE:

Jehangir Art Gallery

Hirji Gallery

M.G. Road, Kala Ghoda,

Mumbai 40 00001

Timing: 11am to 7pm

Contact: +91 98926 99037

 

A Conception of reality - Suraj Kamble

Humans first set foot on the moon in 1969, conveying the sensation of human reality to space and from space, the nature of our own reality was seen and many concepts emerged. Creation, need and reality are considered the pillars of every era and fulfilling these pillars requires constant effort and skill. Meeting these three pillars is the need of the artist and individual in the field of literature. In every age, every practitioner of art follows these three pillars honestly. Suraj Dilip Kamble is one such emerging contemporary artist who consciously practices slow art and fulfils these three pillars.

Artist: Suraj Kamble

Suraj's paintings revolve around the facts and brutal realities of the world. These facts and realities are deeply buried in the heaps of socialism, the successes and privileges of the contemporary world, and in the elite. Digging deep inside these rubbles, we find the remains painted by Suraj. This deep layer is like the remains buried in our society for years. It is the neglected section of society, which helps to sustain our society but is ignored and classified under socio-economic inequality or caste, creed and widespread prejudice. He has endowed the wages earned by working all day through both physical work and painting. The hard work of working was not even, to the wages he received at the end of the day. He understood that life is in the same way as the fruits that come with hard work. With that sensitivity and effect, this has become the emotional world of Suraj's picture. The effectiveness of this sensory awareness has become the ethos of Suraj’s painting.

Smita Kinakle  and Suraj Kamble with Saffronart CEO Dinesh Vazirani 

Suraj's series of works, ‘Black Hole’, is on the one hand a mirror depicting the brutal lives of sanitation workers in the city, with all the facilities available against the least convenient equipment and through which they are completing their tasks. The same paradox of the song is presented to the world in its own style. Suraj's picture is a presented symbolization of human forms with their lean, hard-working bodies.

The entire structure of the paintings appears as monotypic. It's a series highlighting these voiceless people, their canvases are the stories of these people, and every stroke of brush is the face of their pain, struggle and humiliation. These are some of the cruel truths of human life that can be seen with the naked eye, which are experienced and felt once in a lifetime. This is not the idea of any poet or writer. It's not just for the beautification process, it's a pure reality. Art, in its myriad forms, has the power to cross borders, connect different hearts, and reveal a path to a more compassionate and just world. As an artist, Suraj uses the practical form of the landscape in his creation, as a catalyst for social introspection and change, and through this current narrative of change, one will have a powerful experience that is visible to the human eye in the real world.

- Smita Kinkale

Artist / Teacher / Writer 

T: The Sleep M: Acrylic on canvas, S: 42x42 in

अभिकाल्पणिक वास्तव 

मानवाने 1969 मध्ये चंद्रावर पहिले पाऊल ठेऊन अंतराळाला मानवीय वास्तवाची संवेदना पोहोचवली अंतराळातून आपल्याच वास्तवाचं स्वरूप न्याहाळलं आणि अनेक गर्भित संकल्पनांचा उदय झाला .

भौतिकजीवनाच्या कक्षा विस्तीर्ण होण्याचा वेग वाढला  या वेगवान  बदलत चाललेल्या समाजाच्या मानसिक आणि भावनिक गरजा पूर्ण करण्यासाठी चित्र , नाट्य ,साहित्याच्या निर्मितीलाहि  वेग आला .

निर्मिती, गरज आणि वास्तव हे प्रत्येक युगाचे आधारस्तंभ मानले जातात आणि हे स्तंभ पूर्ण करण्यासाठी सतत प्रयत्न आणि कौशल्य आवश्यक असते . या तीन स्तंभांची पूर्तता करणे ही सर्वच  क्षेत्रातील कलाकार आणि व्यक्तीची जबाबदारी  आहे. प्रत्येक युगातील  कला साधना करणारा प्रत्येक व्यक्ती या तीन स्तंभांचे प्रामाणिकपणे पालन करतो.

सूरज दिलीप कांबळे  हा असाच एक उदयोन्मुख समकालीन चित्रकार आहे   जो जाणीवपूर्वक हळुवार रेषां रंगलेपणातून चित्रनिर्मितीचा सराव करतो आणि हे तीन स्तंभ पूर्ण करतो.

सुरजची चित्रे  जगातील तथ्ये आणि क्रूर वास्तवांभोवती विहरत  आहे. समाजिकतेच्या ढिगार्‍यांमध्ये, समकालीन जगाचे यश आणि विशेषाधिकार आणि प्रतिष्ठित वर्गात खोलवर दडलेली वस्तुस्थिती आणि वास्तव आहेत. या ढिगाऱ्यांच्या आत खोलवर खोदल्यावर आपल्याला सूरजने चित्रित केलेले अवशेष सापडतात. हा खोल थर आपल्या समाजात वर्षानुवर्षे गाडलेल्या अवशेषांसारखा आहे, हा समाजाचा उपेक्षित वर्ग आहे, जो आपल्या समाजाला टिकवून ठेवण्यास मदत करतो परंतु सामाजिक-आर्थिक विषमता किंवा जाती, पंथ, व्यापक, पूर्वग्रहांखाली दुर्लक्षित आणि वर्गीकृत केले जाते.दिवसभर राबणाऱ्या मजुरांच्या जीवनाबद्दलची निरीक्षण आणि परिणाम याचा अभ्यास केला . दिवसभर राबवून मिळणाऱ्या मजुरीचा आनंद त्याने प्रत्यक्ष कृती आणि चित्रकृती दोन्हीतून घेतला आहे . राबताना होणाऱ्या कष्टांचा मागमूसही दिवसाच्या शेवटी मिळालेल्या मजुरीनंतर नसायचा. जगणं हे असंच कष्टानंतर मिळणाऱ्या फळात आहे हे समजून घेतलं. हि संवेदनिय जाणीवेची परिणामकारकता  सुरजच्या चित्राचे भावविश्व ठरले आहे.

T: Esteem and Thought process  M:Acrylic and charcoal on canvas  S: 48x108 inch Year: 2022

सूरजच्या  चित्रांची मालिका "ब्लॅक होल" व अन्य ही एकीकडे शहरांतील सफाई कामगारांच्या दाहकश्रमिक   जीवनाचे चित्रण करणारा आरसा आहे, ज्यात अल्प उपकरण  उपलब्ध आहेत मुंबईतील सफाई कामगारांच्या क्रूर जीवनाचे चित्रण करणारा आरसा आहे, ज्यात कमीत कमी सोयीस्कर उपकरणांच्या विरूद्ध सर्व सुविधा उपलब्ध आहेत आणि त्याद्वारे ते त्यांची कामे पूर्ण करत आहेत. जगण्यातला हाच विरोधाभास जगासमोर स्वतःच्या शैलीतून मांडला आहे. सुरजची चित्र ही रूपकात्मक पातळीवर मानवी रूपांचे त्यांच्यादुबळ्या, कष्टमय शरीरासह

प्रस्तुतिकरण करत आहेत. चित्रांची संपूर्ण रचना एकरुपक म्हणून प्रकट होतात. मानवी असुरक्षितता आणि सामर्थ्य याबद्दल तीव्रतेने मांडतात.या आवाजहीन लोकांवर प्रकाश टाकणारी ही एक मालिका आहे, त्याचे कॅनव्हास या लोकांच्या कथा आहेत आणि ब्रशचे प्रत्येक स्ट्रोक म्हणजे त्यांच्या वेदना, संघर्ष आणि अपमानाचा चेहरा आणि काहीसे निस्तेज पण ऊर्जेच्या प्रतीक्षेतील रंगसंवाद आहेत असे भासते .

मानवी जीवनातील काही क्रूर सत्ये आहेत जी आयुष्यात अनुभवली जातात, भावली जातात. तसेच  ती कवीची किंवा लेखकाची कल्पना नाही. केवळ सुशोभीकरण प्रक्रियेसाठी तर नाहीच  ते  एक शुद्ध वास्तव आहे.

सुरजची चित्रे हि परिणामांना  असंख्य स्वरूपात सीमा ओलांडण्याची,भिन्न हृदयांना जोडण्याची आणि अधिक दयाळू तसेच न्याय्य जगाकडे जाण्याचा मार्ग प्रकाशित करण्याची शक्ती बाळगतात . एक कलाकार म्हणून, सुरज सामाजिक आत्मनिरीक्षण आणि परिवर्तनासाठी उत्प्रेरक म्हणून त्याच्या निर्मितीत भूलोकीचं व्यवहारात दिसणारे रूप याचा वापर करून बदलाच्या या चालू कथनाद्वारे वास्तव सृष्टीतले मानवी चक्षूंना दिसणारा असा समर्थ अनुभव आपणास नक्कीच देतो .

 

स्मिता किंकळे.

अध्यापिका क्युरेटर चित्रकार

Jehangir Art Gallery-2024

Preview: Tuesday 26th December 2023, 6PM Onwards

Inauguration by: Dinesh Vazirani (Co-founder &CEO Saffron Art India/ Co-founder Art Mumbai)

Exhibition Dates: 26th December2023 to 1st January- 2024

Venue: Jahangir Art Gallery 161B, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Kala Ghoda, Fort, Mumbai

@smitakinkale @mr.suraj_kamble

I would be honored by your presence at the inauguration and the preview event to witness the unveiling of my art exhibition.- Suraj Kamble - Artist, Mumbai

#jehangirartgallery #saffronart #surajkamble #smitakinkale #artblogazine