Indulging in art

It was a feast of paintings, sculptures, figures and installations when I visited the India Arts Festival in Delhi in January this year. There was so much to admire and discuss, and I had a hard time picking some favourites. But these are the few pieces and artists who made a real impression on me, some well-known and some less visible but offbeat artists. Even though it’s delayed – some health issues meant that this writeup just got neglected from among later ones – I’d like to put up some pictures and text about the ones I liked best.

Bravo to the cow - Gnana P

Buddha - Charcoal on paper - Patole

Gautam Patole - charcoal on canvas. Said Gautam, “I’ve been practicing it for six-seven years and it brings out the beauty of black and white.”

Flower made out of stoneware

Folded paper on canvas, mixed medium - Vinita Das Gupta

Gnana P

Hanuman - Ramesh Gorjala

Image made with medical equipments - Wajid Khan

Image made with nails - Wajid Khan

Krishna - Ramesh Gorjala

Ramesh Gorjala – One of the gallerists displaying his work (from Gallerie Splash) explained that Gorjala is from Andhra, but he is now a pan-India artist and he’s got a very good response from Indian and international art circles. He’s using the kalamkari art in his signature style. Like in the painting for Krishna, the entire story of Krishna is depicted in the body. He has a very good sense of colour and the paintings are very intricate.

Krishna on cow - Gnana P

Krishna with cows - Harish Kumar

Lovers

Madan Lal

Niren Sengupta

Ratan Shah

Ratan Shah

Sculpture by DVS Krishna

Sculpture made by paper quilling - Vaishali Rastogi Sahni

Vaishali Rastogi Sahni – she had made an intricate Krishna figure out of paper quilling. “I cut paper into strips and fold it, and then I press it so that it makes a whole sculpture. A statue takes around one and a half to two months to complete, and I used colour sheets for the quilling. It’s only paper and glue, nothing else,” she explained.

Sculpture made with metal chains - Ashwin Kadam

Srikanth Kuruva

Srikanth Kuruva

Rajrani Sisodia

Rajrani Sisodia – she made what looked like paintings out of threadwork. “I haven’t learnt it anywhere, I just developed it myself when I was in class three. My mother used to make my dresses out of her saris and my father is a very good artist, so that was my inspiration – that I could make paintings with thread. We got a very good platform in Udaipur at the Shiv Niwas Palace, and now I’m showing my work elsewhere. I still work six-seven hours a day. This stitch has been developed by me,” she detailed.

Pictures: Anoop Arora