Common thread unites family art

PARIS-BASED artist Sakti Burman's works along with those of his daughter Maya Burman and niece Jayashree Burman are being displayed at the Apparao Galleries (December 14 to 31).

The exhibition - ``The Family 3'' - is interesting from the point of view that a common thread runs through the visual language used by all the three artists.

Shakti Burman (born 1935) is one of India's reputed artists who first studied in India and in the mid-1950s, went to France and travelled through Greece, Spain and Italy. The travel transformed his vision of art. When he returned to India in the 1960s, he found to his dismay that there was no taker for his art. Unable to make a living in this country, he returned to Paris, married a French artist and settled down there. There are three distinct phases in Sakti Burman's Work - first the myths, fairy tales and fables which are part of the Bengali ethos and entered his work early. From the 1980s onwards, the artist was influenced by the Christian mythology like the appearance of Noah's ark or the fall of man in Adam and Eve.

Simultaneously, Burman decided to experiment with the juxtaposition of patterns by including family groups in his work - real people in a fantasy setting - not excluding his own family group - son, daughter and grandchild. Though away from home, Indian miniatures undoubtedly influenced his scheme of colours and forms.

Daughter Maya Burman's (20) painting is a meeting ground of two cultures - Indian as well as French. The details of Indian miniature painting and European Middle Age architecture merge in her art, and literature and poetry are also very much present as they provide her with new images, as the poetry of Spanish Frederico Garcia Lorex or the Japanese `Iku'. Her compositions are mostly figurative and change according to her mood.

Jayashree Burman (40), the artist's niece, having lived in India, is influenced by this country's colours and atmosphere which are reflected in her works of art.

The doll-like figures, the dress pattern of women, the birds, animals and vegetation are captured in vibrant colours and the folk pattern is predominant in her structures.

ANJALI SIRCAR

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