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Rich artistic talent on view

The annual exhibition of the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi showcased a rich variety of styles and themes

creativity One of the paintings at the exhibition PHOTO: IPINCHANDRAN

The 35th annual exhibition of paintings and sculptures selected by the Kerala Lalithkala Akademi will conclude today. The works exhibited include those selected by the Akademi for the awards.

Besides the award-winning paintings, P. K. Surendran's `Towards Nature - III Palm' and T. S. Prakasan's `Trammeled - 2', those selected for the state awards, honourable mention and special mention are also on display at the Durbar Hall Art Gallery. The exhibition showcases the different styles of paintings and depicts concerns ranging from the existential angst of modern existence, depletion of the ecosystem, globalisation and subjective preoccupations as well.

Talent on show

What was remarkable about the exhibition was the variety of techniques and media that was on show, an indication of the abundance of artistic talent. Moving from one frame to the next opens up a different world of colour, sensibilities and sensitivities.

Acrylic, oil, watercolours, charcoal etchings, etching (graphics), photography, Indian ink and charcoal, woodcuts were just some of the media that were used by the artists.

Among the artists showcased are Sivadas A. K., Saju Thuruthil, Manoj U. Krishnan, Sreekumar E. V., Sreekanth T. K. and Martin O.J. Saju Thuruthil's work `Chayamughi' is a variant of the traditional mural style of painting, in the manner in which the lines have been etched and the choice of colours. If on the one hand the paintings were abstract, then there was realism and naturalism as well. Suvitha K. V's creation `Composition' is an interesting juxtaposition of the several elements that constitute aspects of the canvas of everyday living, of images real and imagined. Sabin M.'s oil painting `Bhannara Petty' has an old world charm reminiscent of the old school of painting, of a time much before modern art. Sabin was given the V. Sankara Menon Endowment gold medal.

Amidst all this jostling for space were paintings by young artists such as Umesh P. K., Vinod T. whose works show a move away from the conventional and the fashionably unconventional - a kind of pop art - in terms of the palette and artistic sensibility. Besides paintings, sculptures too were on show. U. Sivaraman's copper and brass sculpture `Three Singers' was refreshing in conception and execution.

On the whole the Kerala Lalithkala Akademi's annual exhibition was interesting with the variety of works on display.

S.N.A

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