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Method in madness

A walk through the Spartan interiors of Kalakriti Art Gallery is like a quick tumble down the legendary rabbit hole: neon shades, mythological creatures, fierce colours, and dramatic windows into different worlds.

Titled Next Generation: Painters & Printmakers, the ongoing exhibition brings together the works of 14 artists in a colourful medley of texture and subject, ranging from the obvious to the chaotic. Printmaker Abdul Salam’s fine etchings in narrow white against vivid yellows and blacks featured a single bird in one and the curved body of a fish in another work enigmatically titled Bengal Sweet.

In stark contrast to the seeming simplicity of these works are Priyanka Lahiri’s canvasses. Entitled Humanity, her motif is that of horror and violence, with the nude torso of a man against the background of bodies, his skin pierced with pins and his face covered: a symbolic representation of the individual and universal response to terror.

Amlan Dutta’s oil on canvasses on display both seem to explore the search for self and identity, using masks and ropes as symbols. Sanhita Ghosh’s Wow! Import Quality is a playfully modern visual using traditional lines, with stencils of designer labels like Gucci and Veneta, and the outrageous black-and-white forms of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Ghosh’s A Tale of a Hunting God also pops out of another wall: the figure of a man with long coattails and a top hat with his gun pointed at a tiger.

He sits astride an elephant, whose four legs and trunk are all formed by figures of women.

Vivek Sharma’s painting also draw you in. His Mumbai Metaphor shows a wide, vivid expanse of sky across three-quarters of the canvas. Underneath is a girl with a red chunni standing amidst a flock of fluttering pigeons in a breathless whirl of movement. Barun Chowdhury’s poster-quality Resembling A Monkey Story seems to turn the traditional folktale on its head, showing a crocodile perched in a tree, weeping tears onto a monkey sitting in a shallow pool.

The exhibition also features the works of Dipak Kundu, Korou Khundrakpam, Krishna Sardar, Rajesh Deb, Ritendra Roy, Somit Gupta, Sourav Jana, and Supam Adhikary. The exhibition is on until November 10 at Kalakriti Art Gallery, Road Number 10, Banjara Hills.

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