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When the canvas speaks
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A palette of colours where each painting touches a chord in your heart
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V. RAJAGOPAL Incorporating various techniques PHOTO: K. ANANTHAN
Artist V. Rajagopal's fascination for temples and horses is evident in his work.
The self-taught painter has worked like a man possessed to come up with an array of temples and animals, besides landscapes, abstracts and clay faces for the ongoing `Meet Coimbatore Artists' series, organised by the Kasthuri Sreenivasan Trust Culture Centre.
If some temples are choc-a-bloc with people, others wait forlornly for that elusive devotee. Some others have fallen prey to the ravages of time and their lonely pillars stand as a reminder of the times gone by.
Non-fussy paintings
Rajagopal's 75 works on display are non-fussy.
And, the art teacher in him is always alive to the fact that a work of art has to be understood to be appreciated. So, he takes time to explain his abstracts and works inspired by cubism.
As you try to make sense of what appears to be the antlers of a deer and half its face, he rushes in with a white card and places it gingerly across portions to help you identify the remaining face — modelled after a cow and ox and the horns.
"Now, look for the female form," he instructs. That is an invite you cannot ignore.
But you need his intervention again. He blocks the deer and you see a triangular face, followed by the hands of a woman, one of which is shaped like a serpent.
"I want every visitor to experience the happiness of understanding a work the way the artist wants them to," he smiles. Some of his works look complicated, but Rajagopal demystifies them.
The reason? He wants to take people out of the `12-watercolour' mentality and let them know that an `oil on canvas' is not beyond them.
3-D work
Especially commendable are his knife paintings (created using the blade). Most of them are in 3-D format, where the painting appears different every time you move a little away from the frame.
Like the creamy-yellow lake with bright pink lotuses or a pond full of triangular fish.
As you walk away, each fish swims into focus, its shimmer intact. Or, the forest with flaming yellow-orange foliage.
The painting of a temple and elephant is particularly arresting, for it involves three styles of work.
The gopuram is steeped in realism; the pillars and walls are abstract; and the elephant and mahouts stand in relief.
Nataraja in abstract
His Nataraja, an abstract in a flurry of colours, needs some explaining. But, once he does that, you can only watch in amazement — as following each colour, you see a different image. Finally, inspired by Leonardo da Vinci, he has placed Nataraja in a circle that encompasses all elements.
The works on display include oil colours, acrylic, oil pastels (which have the feel of photographs), watercolours and Tanjore and Mysore paintings.
Elements of embossing
His Mysore painting of Andal, created over six months in 1992, has been `borrowed' from the buyer to showcase the possibilities of this genre.
Using a technique perfected by his book binder-father, Rajagopal has added elements to the work by using embossing and decorative Plaster of Paris borders.
The artist's works are not just about a riot of colours. His monocolours speak an equally eloquent language.
Forest in green
Take the bamboo forest done in shades of parrot green and another forest in shades of mauve. "Monocolours are special because they show you the value of colour, lighting depth and play of light and shade," he says.
Catch his works till April 30. All the works, barring some, are for sale. For details, call 0422-2574110.
SUBHA J RAO
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