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Exploring astronomy through art works

SPECIAL FASCINATION: A painting by Rajesh Harsh

He has a special fascination for the night sky, stars and constellations, besides the sun, the moon and atmospheric phenomenon in the daytime sky. And through his works of art, Rajesh Harsh -- who works as a senior artist at the Nehru Planetarium here -- has not only explored astronomy, he seeks to take it to the masses as well.

Drawing inspiration from the sky, Rajesh has made a series of paintings that are on display at a weeklong exhibition inaugurated at the Russian Centre of Science and Culture here on Thursday.

Titled "Majestic Landscapes of the Universe", the exhibition -- dedicated to the 45th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's space flight -- features 25 works of the artist and has been organised jointly by the Russian Centre of Science and Culture, Roerichs' Art Club and the Nehru Planetarium.

"The usual questions that haunt a child when he watches the heavens inspired me to make an attempt to visually present the magnificence of creation. Over the years I have been looking at our celestial surroundings through the eyes of astronomers with whom I have worked," says Rajesh, who makes illustrations for children's educational programme on space and solar system at the Planetarium.

To further explore his creativity, Rajesh has been conscientiously studying legendary artist Vincent Van Gogh's works relating to his field of specialisation for the past six years.

A painting by Rajesh of the three-day-old moon titled "Tritiya" was commissioned for the late astronaut Kalpana Chawla by her sister Sunita Chaudhary. "For that painting I even got a letter of appreciation from the late astronaut.

However, due to her untimely death when the ill-fated space shuttle Columbia burst into flames, Kalpana could not see my painting of her exploration in space. I later presented the work to her husband," he says. — Madhur Tankha

— Madhur Tankha

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