Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Agony and ecstasy of an artist
|
Sanjay Ashtaputre's acrylics mirror the twists and turns in his life
|
FROM LIFE Sanjay Ashtaputre's works depict his despair and hope
Painting is a blind man's profession. He paints not what he sees, but what he feels, what he tells himself about what he has seen'
Pablo Picasso
Hyderabad-based Sanjay Ashtaputre's paintings showcased at the Shrishti Art Gallery point towards this quote of the Spanish master.
The gamut of about 30 works summon one's attention to two feelings of the artist visibly effective due to the situations they were worked during. The first set of acrylics mirror the agony, frustration and disappointment caused by the death of his 15-year-old son in 2000. Cocooned in his grief for a long time, Sanjay could respond to his pain very slowly in giving form to his feelings, using his craft as an outlet for his trauma.
"The time of grief is a time of invigorated contemplation; a season of renunciation and a period of desperation. It is my life in these pictures," says Sanjay.
Symbolism emerges as his tool to draw parallels: the triangles, the virtual rectangles and the flowers could be metaphors of hope and despair.
Predictably, red becomes a major force lending a sense of violence and ferocity to the paintings.
Replete with eclectic metaphors like scratches and stitches, the artist as the protagonist, occupies almost all the paintings.
One can empathise with Sanjay's pain particularly through the painting where the protagonist sits desolately staring at an empty chair.
The second set of works more recently done, show the artist who has come to terms with his tragedy - A man who sees things for better.
The works are more measured, a bit decorative - on the verge of being sensuous with generous use of gold.
A student of Government School of Art in Aurangabad, Sanjay Ashtaputre arrived in Hyderabad a few decades back and stayed on.
Sanjay has so far done 15 one-man shows all over the country, won several awards for his paintings and cartoons, participated in several artists' camps, delivered lectures and demonstrations.
Also involved with sculpture, Sanjay is a passionate sitar player.
B. PADMA REDDY
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
|
