Paradoxes on the canvas
|
The artist has vividly captured the growing obsession of the rural Indian with the material world.
|
RURAL SHOW: Painting of a rural woman sipping cola.
Paradoxes baffle and intrigue any artist worth his grain. What could be more thrilling than capturing the paradox in every single creation, in questioning the layman's intolerance towards the contrary? Artist A. Rajeswara Rao, post innumerable exhibitions, art camps and honours discovered such a contradiction in the Indian villager of the day.
The resultant bouquet of paintings has the Indian villager posing incognito for the artist - as the villager desires to be seen by the outer world.
The exhibition that is currently on at the Shrishti Art Gallery, Jublee hills, offers an excellent insight into the artist's attempts at uncovering the hidden without exposing.
An array of works done with acrylic on sheet and paper as also on glass and paper, on titles that range from `love on red carpet' to coke guzzling `Krishna on the carpet'.
Subtly handled
The artist feels that in chasing the mammon, the rural population of the country has found novel obsessions. Earthiness of village life typified by verdant greenery, chirping birds and gurgling streams, that attracted the overworked city dwellers in the past has been replaced by cars, sunglasses and terrycloth clad aspirants to a trendy city life, themes subtly handled by the artist in his displayed works.
The artist holds nature as important and one finds an ample sprinkling of birds, feline creatures and floral patterns in his oeuvres. While the villager's obsession with celebrity is seen in flashy portraits of stars like Ajay Devgan and Dev Anand, an all consuming fetish for consumer goods is evident in "Krishna on Carpet," "My New Car," "Our Beloved Son" and "The Dandy."
Complex issues
From appearing minimalist in title and colours with cool combinations of amber and brown, the artist moves to complex themes and burning combinations of reds, fuchsia, bottle green and black.
A. Rajeswara Rao.
Psychological archetypes peep through the works when the subjects of the Taj and Mughal nobility indulging in soccer appear.
The artist explores the possibility of the need, for identifying with the elite and heroic fraction of the society, as being age old. Religious themes have also been dealt with albeit in keeping with the `wannabe' lifestyle and attitude of the villager dwellers.
With a flourish the artist manages to express his dilemma, amusement and acceptance of the ubiquitous trend amongst the villagers today. The exhibition is a pure delight to behold owing to the unsurpassed talent of the artist as well as the thematic treatment in the paintings.
Deepshikha Mehta
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Entertainment
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
