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A celebration called life

Photo: Priyadershini S

Earth tales Leon’s painting

K. L. Leon is rooted to the earth to the extent that his works reveal a celebration of life from where it springs and where it is finally interned. Birth and death, growth and decay, rise and fall are the opposites that balance his cosmic canvas. His latest work, ‘Incision 11’, scheduled to be exhibited at Gallery Threshold in Delhi is ready. It is a continuation of his earlier series Terra Firma that dealt with the same thought process.

The work in pastels on canvas is big, 5 x 4 feet and Leon is envisaging bigger works. After all the earth encompasses the entire living world, real and virtual. So the plump yellow green pumpkins resting lazily on the soil peep through lush green foliage.

From the brown, red, black soil germinate umpteen shoots, entwining and creeping for support. Stumps, stems, trunks all rise, while roots sink in to create a web world beneath. The soil binds the two movements, upholding the equilibrium in nature. It is the fascination for the subterranean depths, the ground beneath his feet that his brush strokes follow. His technique corroborates the engagement in his mind. In fine pixel dots, a delicate stroke, small lines Leon creates the entire confused gamut of the living world below. “I want to feel the sand, the grains,” he says and the work texture has the desired tactile quality. There are layers of earth binding layers of thought expressed aesthetically in rust and cerise, green and earthy hues. The canvas has an overall effect of being one with nature, a goal Leon is aiming at and succeeding wonderfully. A good work indeed!

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