CULTURE

ARTSCAPE
Parthan’s artistic dream to explore the world
Garima Pant

I am an academically trained artist. However, it is the education I have received in various other areas far removed from the practice of art, which informs and shapes my art-making,” said Baiju Parthan about his art practice which revolves around ‘media’ and ‘technology’ and he bears witness to the textures of our existing world. For his source material, information is gathered in fragments from media in the form of news photographs, television promos, website matter, ancient astral or mystical diagrams and so on. These fragments of information are then arranged and re-arranged till semiotic links are apparent between them. Information available to all in public is altered into noteworthy private objects.

The exhibition titled ‘BLUR’ by Baiju Parthan, is on display at gallery ‘espace’ till October 5, 2002.

“The exhibition of paintings is an attempt to access a major distinguishing feature of our times, i.e. an unprecedented blurring of boundaries, which had hitherto separated and segregated various experiences of everyday life,” says the artist.

The paintings are a mix of art and technology giving the art of painting a completely new direction and setting new and untouched miles to reach. He has held numerous exhibitions of his works (paintings with interactive new media work) in India as well as other countries across the globe. He was nominated for the Sotheby’s artist of the year award in 2000. He is also a writer and has a number of published essays on art and technology to his credit.

View of river

An exhibition of paintings and sculpture titled rV – Panoramic view of river was on display at the Lalit Kala Academy. It was a group show comprising artists like Sheetal Rana, Rita, Amresh Kumar, Neelima & Sachindra Nath Jha. Sheetal Rana, who is trained from Chandigarh and Banaras is also pursuing Ph.D. Generally, her works include oil on canvas and have taken a turn towards the abstract form. Now she uses extensive and substantial patches of bright and contrasting shades in their utmost richness. Her canvas is a perfect picture of broad strokes swiftly executed on the entire space, which requires proficiency of the highest level of the medium.

Rita, trained in Banaras and Baroda, is now based in Delhi. She is a passionate follower of stone carving and uses granite, marble and metal as her material and medium. Amresh Kumar is based in Patna and has evolved a unique and distinct style of his own. His works based on the modest scale require an extra energy of mind to understand them completely and give them their due justice. His sculptures are three-dimensional in the true sense of the word.

Neelima is also pursuing her Ph.D along with painting, which is basically oil on canvas. Her paintings are based on some of the traditions of the tribal art, which is also a part of her research subject. She has participated in numerous group shows held in Varanasi, Patna Delhi and Lucknow. Sachindranath Jha has glorified the rich and evergreen Indian traditions and festivities in their true colours. He seems to be an artist, who is trying to bring lights in our true traditions and colours of life into the limelight.

Coin exhibition

To commemorate the occasion of World Tourism Day on September 27, 2002, Dilli Haat had organized a coin exhibition, which was inaugurated by the well-known personality and social activist Ms Nafisa Ali. The exhibition depicted the intriguing course of history of the evolution of money. Dilli Haat had invited three numismatic collectors – Rajesh Jain, A. K. Behl and Vivek Sardana to exhibit their collection of ancient coins and notes. It included early silver punch marked coins to the present day ones and also the coin collection of Islamic period, Mughal period and all of the princely states of India.

Notes and coins with errors like vertically printed notes, half-printed, one side printed, both side plain notes, notes with extra paper, with same number and with two different numbers, attracted lots of attention. More than 1,000 coins and 4,000 bank notes from foreign countries including the rare two and half-rupee note and coins depicting the Chinese years, were also displayed on the occasion.

Her fragrance

Fragrance, an exhibition of paintings by Kajal Nalwa on view, at the Lalit Kala Akademi, is all about women in harmony with nature revealing the close bond that exists between the fair sex and the natural surroundings. Painted in vibrant colours, the pictures represent detail, which can only emerge out of a keen sense of observation.

An alumni of Lawrence School, Sanawar and Sophia Polytechnic, Mumbai, Kajal has translated nature into an art form through colours. The exhibition was inaugurated by Former Finance Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and sponsored by Ambiente.