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Varied strokes One of the works on display at “ An Artistic Galaxy” A work by Erama.

‘An Artistic Galaxy’ is a charitable art show at Vinnyasa Art Gallery (till December 20) where 23 reputed artists have come together to raise funds for Siva Sakthi Homes for the mentally challenged. There couldn’t be a more joyous way to do charity — the exhibition is a riot of colour and an amalgam of styles. Human figures, and particularly human faces, are emphasised in the gorgeously detailed abstracts of M. Senathipathi, M. Suryamoorthi and Alphonso Doss, in the cheerful picture of young flower girls by Nitin and in the dreamy golden-bronze toned abstract ‘She’ by S. G. Vasudev. Splashes of colour — red, yellow, orange — draw you to the work of Thota Tharrini as do the vibrant blue, green and golden tones of Rameshwar Singh’s ‘Deity-VII’ and the brilliant solid colours of P. Gopinath’s symbolic abstract.

Also on display at Vinnyasa (till December 20) is Erama. Thiruvalluvan’s first show, “The Genesis”, which is diametrically opposite to ‘An Artistic Galaxy’ in almost all respects. A solo show, the works are entirely done in black and white with crayon, and depict scenes inspired by the village where the artist and businessman was born and even now resides. His subjects include farmers working on the field, villagers sitting in contemplation and cows — lots and lots of them, bathing in the river, dozing in the sun, eating from dustbins, etc. Oddly, it’s these simple sketches of cows that are most lifelike and endearing — he seems to have gone for too much detailing on his human figures and the fussy lines tend to obscure. But in all, he displays a talent for capturing the essence of these rustic scenes.

Thiruvalluvan

‘Beloved’s Signatures’ is a show by husband-wife duo Madhu Madappally and Jolly M. Sudhan from Kerala at Lalit Kala Akademi (till December 16). The two have been doing shows together for nearly 20 years. Jolly uses the fascinating ‘mosaic’ technique of Pointillism, little flecks of colour coming together to create a shaded, cohesive whole. Her colour composition is eye-catching —from lilacs and smoky blues to brilliant reds, yellows and greens — and there’s plenty of movement and energy, especially in her romantic, erotic Madhavam series. In contrast, Madhu’s works are dark, with nightmare-like surrealist imagery of barren landscapes, leafless trees and naked human figures with limbs like gnarled branches crawling on the ground. Composed entirely in either burnt-oranges and reds or deep blues and blacks, these images are curiously still, like a snapshot of the netherworld.

Jolly M. Sudhan

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