Thursday, 23 December 2021

Visual Letters from 3A- studio.


Nippon Gallery presents, A show representing 3 prolific and creative artists displaying their experiences and affiliations of life. We appreciate Aishwarya Arvind Parab, Spandan Nath and Anjali Nair for Exhibiting such distinctive artworks that have deep impressions and feelings behind them. Visual Letters from 3A- studio configures the encounters of existence, experiences of life and peculiar vision about the world around. With the paramount skills and artistic aptitude, the artworks are displayed with remarkable ease, sublime colours and delightful forms.

Let's take a glimpse at the inspirational journey of these artists.

Aishwarya  Parab


I am Aishwarya Parab, a fine artist and an art educator working in a reputed school in Mumbai. I remember the days when I was around 5-6 years old, my father used to gift me various types of books and stationary. Colouring books, drawing books and even story books to read. I used to try and draw the birds and animals from those colouring books on random sheets. But to be very honest, I wasn't too much into art in my school days. Never participated in any drawing competitions nor was I really encouraged to do art. I always drew the iconic two mountains & scenic river landscapes in my art exams. I was an avid reader back then.

My journey towards art started when I decided to leave my ongoing course of B.Sc. to pursue my career in arts. I graduated in Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) from one of the finest art school in Mumbai, Rachana Sansad Academy of Fine arts & Crafts. 


Before getting in the art school I never really thought about doing it as a profession. Slowly and steadily my interest in this field grew as I was evolving in every aspects of my life; developing my foundation skills, making new friends and enjoying every bit of the phase. The journey wasn't easy but my goals and focus was very clear. I was becoming more passionate and focused by the time. I realised that art is where I belong to. I was discovering a whole new world of art; from volunteering for art events, participating in art exhibitions, working on wall painting projects and public art installations as a collective, to working with an NGO for 6 months. It's been a wonderful experience!

The clarity in my thoughts and my dedication towards art saved my path to securing the excellence awards and the gold medal in the final year of BFA. In that same year two of my artworks got selected for 41st Monsoon Show which held at the prestigious Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai. It will remain as one of the most overwhelming and a dream come true moment for me.

Making figurative compositions is my favorite kind of genre, where I experiment with the form. From making bold patches of colors to capturing delicate forms in surroundings through the lines, my artworks explore and experiment with the concept of one's relationship with the surroundings as well as with self; dealing with the idea of responses that are created within, while observing the world around. As a keen observer and an introvert, I feel that every response and every experience cannot be fitted into the mould of verbal format. That is where the 'form' takes place. 

The series of artworks which will be displayed at Nippon Art Gallery from 17th to 23rd of Dec 2021 deal with the idea of the fluctuations of conscious subconscious mind and the responses within.

Mind, not an organ as such..it may not be defined as one form, still can take up various forms. Mind is something which is quite vulnerable yet so powerful on it's own. The things around us keep on affecting our mind.. positively/negatively and sometimes they end up creating the neutral responses. While talking about the external forces that influence our mind. These artworks talk about the numerous other things happening within us that often create the turbulence.

The form that I have used here to depict the mind is a Balloon, in a metaphorical way. Balloon.. flexible, transparent and something that has the ability to hold up to certain amount.  The experiments goes on from making bold patches of colours to capturing the different abstract forms from the surroundings. 

As Picasso said, ' To search means nothing in painting. To find is the thing', my compositions are the narrations of small yet significant responses.

Spandan Nath

I am an Artist, Writer and Filmmaker. I write it in this order because this is the exact order in which I acquired the skills. As a single child, I would be less interested in games and playing and more into observing the world around. My father had a transferable job, and I would have the opportunity to observe, more than just one terrain or culture. These observations soon translated in sketches and at a very young age, Visual Art took over as my only interest. However, as I grew up and the pressures of education took over, I realised I had less and less time to make visual art. It is then that I realised that poetry and other kinds of writing was just another medium for expressing the same expression that I did through Visual Art. Interestingly, writing started giving me the same pleasure that I felt through Visual Art and that led me to finally graduating as Masters in Literature with Honours at the University of Mumbai. 


But that did not mean I lost my interest for visual art, rather it expanded my interest in Art itself. As a Masters student I wrote an M.Phil level thesis on Comic book art and Visual art as a form of language. But after this I felt that, I had to explore more in how I can widen my understanding of Art. I was in a dilemma weather to go for a Ph.D for exploring that or something entirely new. Experimenting with a few occupations, I decided to pursue a Diploma in Film Making. Popular Culture had always interested me, and Filmmaking opened up new arenas for me. It made me realise how each frame of a film is carefully constructed and executed. How script is broken down and storyboarding made all the difference in shooting a scene. After being an assistant in a few short films, I realised that the only thing in which I didn't have a formal education was my first love itself, i.e. Visual Art. To pursue this I went to Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh and did a short course in Thangka Paintings. Further, after returning I took up a certificate course in Print-Making at Rachana Sansad Academy of Fine Arts and Crafts. It is there that I met my fellow artists in this exhibition - Aishwarya Parab and Anjali Nair. Somehow our styles and concepts seemed to click instantly and ever since we have been working as a group. The aggregate knowledge that I acquired by being a student of these several fields is what makes me the artist I am today. My concepts and understanding of Art itself has evolved with my journey. I have since exhibited at several group and commercial exhibitions. However, I am much obliged to Nippon Gallery to showcase our concepts and art as a 3 Artist Group, as it is one of the first exhibition where the focus will be only on our artworks, instead of a large body of artworks from a plethora of artists. 

I often say that Art is my Qi as well as my Ikigai ...ie. in simple terms Art is my life-force as well as what I was born to do. But more importantly it's my form of self-expression, which has never stayed bound by one medium. Be it visual art, writing or even Filmmaking - they all represent self-expression and art for me. Art is not a single kind of work but it is rather multi-faceted or multi-dimensional. In fact, the series I present before you talks about the same concept of multi-faceted Life itself. If we are looking at a single person, he or she is playing several roles in their life - like a son, a father, a student, a teacher, an artist, a writer ... and you never know how many more. But the multi-facetedness doesn't end here. If we look at a larger scale, to the organisms living on earth, it's the entire world and it's huge. On the other hand if we look at the entire cosmos, Earth is probably even smaller than a speck of dust in the relative context. Then there are multiple dimensions, which if spoken in the context of quantum physics widens our existence even further, but in the context of spirituality it's an overlap of multiple existences and experiences in the same space. The discussion can go on forever. My series, called The Mangekyō Series that will be displayed talks of an overlap of this multi-facetedness. Mangekyo is the Japanese word for Kaleidoscope. Why Kaleidoscope, though? Kaleidoscope is the overlap of reflections from multiple mirrors, and to me multiple dimensions can be best representated through this wonderful device man has created for entertaining but is awe inducing. 

The works themselves are hybrids of traditional art like sketch, digital art like enhancing in them with softwares and then experimental processes like cutting the prints and further enhancing them with relief placement and multimedia work on them. This again expresses the multi-facetedness and multi dimensionalness of the concept that is at the core of this series.


Anjali Nair

I am Anjali Nair, mother of two wonderful kids, a fine art artist and an art educator. I have done my graduation in English Literature (Hons) from Delhi University, and have worked professionally in the garment industry both as a Merchandiser and an entrepreneur for some years. Art for me had mostly been a hobby which I indulged in often. It is after my kids were born and while pursuing my Post Graduation studies in Early childhood education, I saw the positive impact art activities can have on children and adult alike, it is then, I started thinking of pursuing Art seriously. Hence, around 18years down the line, I did my Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting) from Rachana Sansad Academy of Fine Arts and Crafts. In my ongoing learning process, I have participated in various art workshops in collaboration with different artists (including Aishwarya Parab and Spandan Nath) while  participating in various wall painting projects in and outside Mumbai. My selected works have been displayed in Jehangir Art Gallery, Bombay Art Society and other exhibitions, including public art installation for the Bandra fest along with my artist friends. I have been an art educator for over 13 years. I have also conducted number of art workshops for kids and adults alike, including for an NGO, under Save the Children Foundation, India training over 100 Balwadi teachers so as to propagate learning through Art.  My repertoire of experiences and a quest and love for experimenting and learning helps me indulge in unique experiences of working with different mediums like painting, printmaking, sculpture and installation art.

My experiences have also been greatly influenced by my  father being in the Armed Forces...and being exposed to  varying  cultures. It is  in this very vibrant environment with many social interactions sometimes loud and sometimes silent I have grown up…each person coming across to me as a unique personality ..sometimes the characters extending to inanimate objects as well.. ..however connected to each other, with a sense of belonging…is it not that many strive to achieve? 

Often these interactions make me genuinely interested in the working of the human mind and how working on our subconscious level, we can reflect on our thinking with a better understanding at a conscious level…. for we are the thoughts that we give power and attention to. As an artist, my work explores and at times reminiscences… the dynamics and complexity of relationship with oneself, others, nature and surroundings….it is these interactions and our ways of thinking that we perceive things on an individual level.

On another level, we, human beings are probably one of the only species that ‘can talk about entire kinds of entities that they have never seen, touched or smelled.’ (Sapiens. A Brief History of Humankind...Yuval Noah Harari). Hence, making stories comes more easily to us, and it is  on  such accounts that we try to connect with others… with ideas which may also be abstract. It is in those abstractions that I try to find meanings through my thought processes, while indulging in expressive purposes. These thoughts coincide with my views and beliefs, that I try to communicate through visuals…In this paticular series, I have made use of hands as expressions with a mind and character in itself…Sometimes the hands speaks what words may not be able to convey…

Though I usually work in various mediums, in these works being exhibited with Nippon Gallery, I have mainly used watercolour and colour pencils in layers to create a rich and textured effect…

Nippon Gallery gladly welcome you all to the virtual exhibition, wishing the artists all the admiration. 

Give us a virtual visit. See you.


Visual Letter from 3A - Studio 

by

Artist: Aishwarya Parab l Spandan Nath l Anjali Nair

Group Show Date: 17th Dec to 23th Dec - 2021 

Only View on

www.nippongallery.com

Moderator by Nippon Team

Sale Enquiry: info@nippongallery.com

Note: All images is copyright and if you download or copy from website Nippon IT team will take legal notice.Artworks will be couriered in roll format.

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Sunday, 19 December 2021

COVER STORY - Drawing social narratives

Sandhu feels that art is an exercise in observation whether one is painting a landscape, drawing a political cartoon or making a film

By Sukant Deepak

Ikroop Sandhu

April 22, 2021 (IANSlife) “It’s important for me as a person to comment on social and political issues. Social media is a powerful tool to project my opinions into the world. It is also a great place to find alternate points of view and to engage with people outside of our echo chambers. My tool is drawing, so that is what I use to express myself,” says artist Ikroop Sandhu, whose illustration, re-imagining painter Amrita Shergill’s famous ‘Three Girls’ to mark Woman's Day during the ongoing farmers' agitation went viral.

This BA (Philosophy) graduate from LSR in New Delhi, who later did a course in animation from Vancouver has been following the farmers' protest ever since  BKU(Ugrahan) set up a morcha.



“Initially I was an observer, but as things progressed, a friend of mine - Sangeet Toor set up a women led publication called ‘Karti-Dhatri’. She asked if I could make an illustration for their first issue. That got the wheels of my mind turning. I had been thinking about the contrasting images of women farmers astride tractors from this protest versus their docile depiction in paintings, films and literature. In fact, women farmers are largely invisible and categorised as rural women while their active role as farmers is overlooked even today.

Amrita Shergill’s beautiful and melancholic painting of three women  came to mind, and I wondered if I could use them as a visual quote in the current dialogue around representation of women farmers. That is how  the illustration came about. It was printed for the Women’s day celebration instead, and filmmaker Gurvinder Singh designed the poster. It was a spontaneous collaboration,” she remembers. 

 

Drawing social narratives

Talking about artists’ relationships with protest sites, especially as seen during the CAA-NRC protests and the ongoing farmers’ agitation, Sandhu feels that art is an exercise in observation whether one is painting a landscape, drawing a political cartoon or making a film. That this keenness to observe emerges from curiosity. “It could be that artists are curious people or that curious people become artists. Protest sites with their continual improvisations and diversity of engagement is like a Petri dish for a curious mind. So it makes sense as to why young and old creative people would want to participate and study this human experiment.” 

The artist, who moved to Dharamshala from Delhi just before the lockdown is quite optimistic about the future of graphic novels in the country. “We are seeing a plethora of independent publishers who are putting out high quality visual work. As comics go digital, more experimental and interactive work from Indian creators will emerge. I am optimistic about this ever growing readership and the shifts in visual mediums,” she says.


 



Drawing social narratives

 (This article is website exclusive and cannot be reproduced without the permission of IANSlife) 

Sukant Deepak can be contacted at sukant.d@ians.in  

Sunday, 12 December 2021

PIN POSTER: Visual Letter from 3A - Studio by Aishwarya Parab l Spandan Nath l Anjali Nair


Visual Letter from 3A - Studio

Aishwarya Parab l Spandan Nath  l Anjali Nair 

Group Show

Date:
17th Dec to 23th Dec - 2021

Only View on
www.nippongallery.com

Moderator by Nippon Team

Sale Enquiry: +91 98205 10599

info@nippongallery.com


#onlinesho #nippongallery #mumbaiartist #mumbaiartweekent

 

Monday, 6 December 2021

An Exhibition of Paintings & Sculptures By Dr.Shirish S. Ambekar & S. Kantha Reddy

 

From: 6th to 12th December 2021

MESMERISING ART WORK

An Exhibition of Paintings & Sculptures By Dr.Shirish S. Ambekar & S. Kantha Reddy

VENUE: Jehangir Art Gallery, Hirji Gallery161-B, M.G. Road Kala Ghoda, Mumbai 400 001