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Aakriti Art Gallery's 'GenNext II' is a much awaited exhibition of paintings and sculptures by new generation Indian contemporary artists; below forty years of age.
The show opens on Oct 2nd, 2007; a day that also coincides with the second anniversary of the gallery.
As the collective creative energy waits to explode on the walls of the gallery.
Let us take a glance at the articulate narratives, the drama of colour and the subtle shades of passion, these thirty seven young minds wish to convey through art.
Today, artists like Subrata Biswas moulds cold hard metal to explore tender joys of childhood. The narratives spring forth in simplified folk form; imageries sculpted in a manner that captures pure fun and joy of life. He wishes to bring out the elements of pure joy and gay abandon that today's children who are living a highly stressful life are missing out in the process. On the other hand Rishav Gandhar Narzary's work dwells among various facets of personal, psychological and emotional spaces within him and his immediate surroundings. In the 'Carnival' series, he has used symbols like lips, hands, eyes, stylised faces conveying messages of psychological interactions that have affected him in a very personal way. For Arya Oraw, the challenge lies in finding hidden meaning in found objects, mechanical parts and scraps. To him sculpture means solidity and figurative forms come naturally to him. Some of his work displayed here comes from his 'Shikar' series that predominantly shows animal and insect forms.
Anasuya Chakraborty explores the interior spaces where human figures are just a substitute. She renders these figures transparent, as she believes that all emotions whether it is love, anger, sorrow or the feeling of isolation and alienation, they are all actually transparent. Moreover, the props like sofas, chairs or bed illustrates that they too in their mute existence beckon the viewer to unwind, relax. Dipak Kundu, whose works were shown earlier in GenNext I explores the new age dialogues of existence. He deliberately chooses typically Indian forms inspired by the classics of Ajanta, Chola, Bengal and Khajuraho. The current body of work demonstrates female characters in their many moods and expressions; very much at home in the digital age. The extreme rendering of soft curvaceous bodies with abrasive hardness is very 'Kunduesque'. The painting 'Give me peace' asks Buddha for deliverance from a monochrome life of strife and cruelty.
Sourav Jana's, visual language draws inspirations from on Indian rituals, myth and history. In GenNext I his paintings had more of line work; reflecting oriental and far eastern influence, where as in this show, rendition style involves use of thick pigment, revealing the forms by means of dexterous brush work, scratching and lines, almost a wall painting like effect that evokes primitivism and tribal art.
For Apu Dasgupta, a pristine white canvas stokes the fire of a never ending combat that questions his existence. He perceives that globalisation has created an amorphous, borderless mannerism in various socio- political and economic contexts, making him and his peers wait as mute observers to find clarity in conflict. For Pradip Mondal, inspiration comes from various geometric forms. Shapes of natural objects, play on the verge of abstract , folk and tribal style of rendition. Moving from the depiction of her perceptions of external world, Nobina Gupta in this show explores life that is neither visible nor tangible yet exists around us. She tries to illustrate the rhythm of evolution, spontaneity of growth amidst vast expanse of organic world gushing with vital force entwined with emotion. Haunting memories, fantasies, dreams, allegories, metaphors and void are some of the subjects revealed translucently in her paintings.
For Somit Gupta 'fast forward' is the way he perceives life in today's urban world. He portrays the effect that is having on people, who are fast becoming victims of speed, struggle, and trauma without knowing they are seeking or running for. He perceives everything to be moving in a mass of multi-hued textures. His brush work, as a result, reveals tremendous amount of tension and vigorousness of movement interspersed with typographical textures. On the other hand playfulness becomes a language for some and humour becomes a tool to depict various subjects of life. Somnath Adhikary is such an artist who not only spontaneously plays with imageries from humorous angles but also uses colours to emphasise mirth. His idea is that everything need not be looked at for inner meanings, but should be looked simply with childlike curiosity. 'Chameleon' depicts a flute playing figure whose merry tunes sets inanimate objects break into rhythm. Life amidst fibre optics and wireless technology is hurtling us rapidly towards alienation. This is what Supam Adhikary's paintings illustrates as a spontaneous reactions to digital age. He points this out through one of his paintings in which a couple in the middle of vastness, wears headphones and speak to each other through microphones. He is of the opinion that although the basis of human relationships have not changed from what was in ancient times, however, innovations and gadgets have fossilised our innate characteristics and mechanised our emotions. Imagination has a free run when you come face to face with Chandan Bhandari's sculptures. His subjects break the dimension barrier and swap places with size. Small becomes big and vice versa. His visual language is at once both playful and profound. Sujit Kumar Karan's terracottas are inspired simultaneously by the historical and the present. Day to day events, and natural course of life are recorded in the softness of clay, hiding the artist's impulsive, ever changing reflection of moods within its folds. Simple household objects fascinates Amlan Dutta. Through them he depicts the urge to reach ones goal in life. Objects like 'tops', which were necessary part of his childhood, but have ceased to be of any importance, has inspired his work 'Kurukshetra'. Etchings and litho prints of Krishna Sardar are depictions of her relationship with surroundings, work and problems of existence. Woman figures huddled together, solitary woman under a green triangle; are symbolic representations of hope , aspirations and the search for the meaning of life. Globalisation and information overload vis a vis today's urban life is what Mithun Dasgupta has attempted to unravel through his works. His subjects, wearing a symbolic jacket belong to this world, where, intimate expressions have turned digital, words of emotions are available in customised, pre-fabricated greeting cards. Automatic lives and ready to serve meals. He asks, “where are we heading?” Try answering that, if you wish.
Landscapes, earth, fields and small things that one doesn't notice anymore, features in Balaka Bhattachajee's work. In her painting 'My Beloved' she figuratively illustrates her emotional relationship with nature. What reflects in her work is serenity and spiritual calm that she derives from this association. Debashis Barui's current body of work is technically almost on similar lines as it was in Gen Next I. Figurative, linear and stark; he explores the relationship of events and situations in the context of 'before' and 'after'. His lines are sensuous and evoke a sense of repose, even though the subject is engaged in an activity. Avijit Dutta's mix media on canvas board captures the imageries of nature man made objects, technology, to illustrate the irony of existence and a rapidly depleting beauty of nature. Pallab Das's exploratory journey in the world of ceramics has been long and enduring. Keeping round plates as his basic ground, he experiments with different materials and ceramic techniques to arrive at a composition. The main purpose of his artistic journey is to find and explore with all materials possible. Animal figures, human faces and even bronze is used to bring new meaning to art.
Abdul Salam interprets what he sees. Curious and fascinated by mute creatures; 'Fish' symbolises the desire for attainment and freedom of expression. In the concept of 'Red Vase' the user remains the same, but the form changes to convey different meanings.
Expressions and face are the two subjects that emerge in sculptures of Chandan Das. When expression needs to qualify greater meanings, mass and volume is harmoniously blended in with the face, very often with figurative forms. However, figures only support the main theme. Socio-political metaphors created out of day to day events forms the subject of Akhil Chandra Das's sculptures. 'Bengal 2007' using the metaphor of a sliced fish, Das attempts to bring home the issues of unrest and strife in rural Bengal. Allegories, were predominant features even in his last Gen Next I show. Family, friendship and themes of life are carved out in wood or blended with metal to establish the thought process. For Shantanu Mitra, mainstay 'to the point' is the theme for his work. Using welded metal sheet of brass and copper or metal on wood, Shantanu explores the existence of form in space and in relation to human 'touch'. Indian mythology and the concept of trinity are also areas he explores in this show. Suvajit Samanta's sculptures - 'Symphony of Nature' depicts undisturbed forces of nature amidst chaos and turbulence in the world. It's a study of stark contrast between tranquillity and vibrations. In case of Madhuri Kathe, abstraction is a path that leads to liberation. With reference to five elements or 'panchtattwa' she explores time, space, forms and colours and a language that defines her understanding of the all pervasive vital energy, called life. However, Shyamal Roy Chowdhury explores abstraction by using 'doll' imageries. In this context textures and lines gets emphasized, creating layers and space out of clever use of juxtaposition of colours. But in case of Rupal Dave, it's the idea that elucidate human life and differentiates male and female sensibilities, whether it is the desire for power, sex or sensual pleasures. Warm tones of red has been used to create a tension between empty space and lines, as they are also evident from the embracing figures. In this show she displays her work through a combination of paintings and graphic prints. If dramatisation enables to express oneself lucidly, then Tarun Maity's sculptures reflects just that. Use of various media like fibre glass, bronze, aluminium, paper pulp, leather, foam and wood in combination or isolation has enabled Maity to establish a style distinctly his own.
Other artists like Ankur Khare, Ashish Ghosh, Jayanta Kumar Paul, Rajesh Bhowmik, S.Gopinath, Sandip Daptari, Suman Choudhury, Sumana Ghosh, Tapas Biswas & Vivek Sharma have left a distinct mark with their unique style and method of articulation. They are to be watched.
Thus, we can conclude by saying that GenNext II is not just a show, but a confluence creative minds, ideas and generations; old and new. A place to absorb each others vibrations and feel the pulse of contemporary India emerging with unique identities and self-expression.
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