ART KONSULT'S BRINGS BARODA’S YOUNG GUNS IN CLASS OF 2008

New Delhi: Gallery ART KONSULT is very soon coming up with its a Classof 2008 - a group exhibition by Nine young artists from M.S. University Baroda who have completed their Masters in 2008, The young guns will be showcasing a new brand of experimental work in mixed media ranging from acrylic sheet & wood, sand and coloured beads to rubber doormats and mirrors.

Participating artists are Boshudhara Mukherjee, Sandip M. Pisalkar, Bhrigu Kr. Sharma, Parvin Khambal, Shreyas Karle, Jyotirmoy De, Swetha B.V., Bhavin Mistry and Hardik Kansara.

Says Sandip Pisalkar: “Whenever I see an object of historical reference, I wish to transform it through the use of technology. That means the practical context, and historical references are still there but I only try to manipulate the way of seeing that object. I would like to use the word REMIX (Past tense + Future tense = Present tense) to explain my art world. I like to listen to the old melodies, but remixed with the beat of this generation. I watch movies which are remakes of the old hits. Certainly we can’t forget the past glory but we realize we can’t extend it to our new generations within the same format. It demands adjustment and extends debates. Debate on what is relevant and what’s not. This is the whole essence of my work process. I look at objects of historical importance with an eye of interrogation.”

So, in one of his works titled Piau (Cooling), Sandip creates a mini-bar within the traditional format of a water pump!

A similar experimentation in form is being sought by Boshudhara Mukherjee who says that, “The canvas, for me, is more than just a surface to paint on. The canvas is cut and woven, sometimes more than once, to create the work. The most obvious layer is the technique and medium chosen. It also reflects my fascination with patterns and the various ways in which they can be created. It is not only the creation but also the recreation of the patterns along with distortions to create new, unexpected patterns that is important to me. This distortion is achieved by cutting the patterns and then weaving them back together to reconstruct them. No matter how precisely it is done, some amount of distortion always occurs. This relates my work to life and the distortions created by the challenges and problems that one faces. The works are thus also like portraits or masks that people wear. Faces one prepares to meet the faces one meets. They are the faces one ‘puts on’ or hides behind in an attempt to not totally reveal their true self. But no matter how hard one tries, the distortions continue to reveal the trials and travails of the inner self.”

This idea of the hidden and the revealed is further extended to how the artist displays her work. The works are hung away from the walls with their backs also showing. The works are created frontally, hence the conscious. The back on the other hand develops automatically, the unconscious. One cannot judge the work based on its outward appearances. The intricate, delicate nature of the work seems to make the audience forget that its process of creation is one that would be normally considered destructive i.e. cutting. Destruction hence becomes a necessary part of creation. Again behind the apparent fragility of the work, is hidden its great strength to endure.

It’s the same attempt at creating a distorted reality that prompts Hardik Kansara into creating mixed media works related to illusions. He makes a larger than life-size comb in teak wood. The teeth of the comb are made of cubical wooden logs on which a pair of eyes have been created to create the illusionary playful image of the eyes. In yet another work, Hardik uses perforated rubber door mats with round mirrors placed in each hole. Says the artist: “I want the viewer to get an experience of a sudden illusion which creates an element of surprise when he sees his own reflection in the mirror”.

On the other hand, Bhavin Mistry, another young artist hailing from fine Arts Faculty, MSU, Baroda consciously avoids human presence in his works, a "no-man's landscapes" in his words. Some of his works also comment upon the overpowering of manmade technology.

“I never try to capture the beauty of landscapes in my paintings instead I use it just as an element to show depth. Tensed colour scheme and balanced composition got combined to produce a work of simple, quiet ambience that ignores almost deliberately any human presence, which effects the viewer can sometimes be perturbing. These lonely landscapes reflect a deeply introvert, detached perspective on reality. Relaxed tonal rhythms and use of limited range of colours reveal a painter who wishes simply to capture the essence of objects and scenes. Objects isolated from their physical context are imbibed with an enigmatic aura.

I have always remained free from the ideologies and have used all the freedom that is granted by this institute. Baroda has seen a number of narrative and figurative painters and also very well known for conceptual artists, but the quest to find something beyond and the immediate kept me going on. It is however a conscious effort to avoid any human presence in my works, a no-mans landscapes. I am also unconsciously commenting upon the way manmade technology had overpowered the human clan almost to the extent of paralyzing it.”