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The power of three
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One's traditional, the other, mystic, and the third explores the notions of femininity - catch works of three artists this week
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DISTINCTIVE STYLES Works of Parameshwar Raju, Sohan Qadri, and Sridhar Poluru
Three individual art shows are on display at the Apparao Galleries this week, each with a distinctive style and message, reflective of the artist’s inspiration. Here’s a look at all three.
‘Linear Lyrics’ by Parameshwar Raju (November 2 to 10)
Parameshwar Raju draws inspiration for his calligraphic art from the Devanagiri script. Using a variety of nibs, including the traditional Devanagiri nib with which Indian scripts were written in the old days, and the ‘thick-thin-thick’ technique specific to the script, he creates a series of gorgeous abstracts in elegant sweeps of red ink.
“I initially began experimenting with the Devanagiri script, and then started trying to revive the old artwork done in this style — the kind one sees in palm-leaf drawings and old miniatures,” says the artist from Vizianagaram. “This artwork is alive today only in some pockets, where it’s part of family tradition; I wanted to bring it to the forefront.”
His works are, however, a modern, more stylised and definitely more abstract interpretation of the traditional art form. “Creating works completely in abstract while capturing the essence and maintaining accuracy is the challenge,” he comments.
This exhibition features a selection from different collections done by the artist, many in a mythological vein and most linked to symbols of Hindu culture. There is the stylised and elaborate depiction of the trishul and of a delicate conch — the Panchajanya Sankha, and highly abstract depictions of the relationship between Shiva and Parvati, scenes from the Mahabharata, etc. A particularly delightful series is one inspired by the deities, including a rendering of Puri temple, Balabhadra, Subhadra and Jagannatha in neat calligraphic strokes.
There’s also a delicately-drawn series on Nature — on the trees at the Biligiri Rangana Betta forest and numerous birds — that marks a departure from the rest of the collection. “These feature my own interpretation of the art form and the thick-thin-thick technique,” says Parameshwar. In all, a truly unusual collection that’s more than worth a look.
‘Omkar’ by Sohan Qadri (November 2 to 28) This collection of works by yoga guru and poet Sohan Qadri has a meditative and mystical quality to it, and is arresting in its use of colour. All ink and dye on paper, the textured works are a sea of colour — rich, warm tones of reds and yellow, deep pinks and dark purples, and vibrant blues and teal. The colours ebb and flow into each other in gradations as hypnotic lines run across the paper. Featuring abstract symbols of the mind and the eye, the works seem to speak of focus and concentration in the meditative state.
‘The Flame and the Flower’ by Sridhar Poluru (November 2 to 10)
Sridhar Poluru’s collection of large, clear figuratives explores notions of femininity and the power of woman. His works use bright, solid acrylic colours — lilac, pink, green, yellow and most of all orange — all over the canvas to convey the message of woman being the receptacle of strength and the giver of life. The themes of the paintings appear to be inspired by mythology — depicting, for instance, a female form fighting a three-headed serpent with a sword — as well as folk art, using traditional symbols such as lotus, the cow and the tree of life prominently. But the works as a whole still maintain a strongly modern sensibility.
DIVYA KUMAR
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