Colourful tribute to the elements
25 Feb 2015 2:33 AM IST
As he celebrates his 93rd birthday today, a new body of work by the eminent artist is being showcased at his solo show Aarambh at the Vadehra Art Gallery here.
The exhibition displays a spectacular explosion of colours and sublime diffusion of erotica into the spiritual from his vast body of work.
Raza, a stalwart of the Progressive Modern artists group, says he finds inspiration both in introspection and in the outside world.
While his iconic Bindu, and the geometrical shapes remain constant in his work, the difference, ‘lies in what he does with colours.’
Black, the Padma Shree awardee says, is the mother of all colours. It is the point from where all energy in the universe emanates as well as the point into which the energy converges, referring to the Black Bindu from among his recent artworks.
“He speaks the language of colours and believes that the colours must be such that they can speak not only to the readers, but also to each other,” Ashok Vajpayee, Chairman, Lalit Kala Academy stated.
Raza’s work is a reconciliation of opposites.
“In his work, the sacred and the sensuous; the spiritual and the erotic co-exist,” says Vajpayee.
A common pattern evident in Raza’s works is the existence of white spaces on canvas, deliberately left unpainted, often giving a three-dimensional effect.
“This he does to assert the notion that a painting is a panting on canvas,” says Vajpayee who claims to have known the artist for more than three decades now.
Growing up in Barbaria in Madhya Pradesh to a forest ranger father Raza was trained in art at Nagpur and Bombay. He has been influenced by nature from his early childhood, which is reflected in his artworks
In one of his paintings, Raza expresses his impression of Chhattisgarh in an uncanny combination of Bindu and the brush strokes in water colour.
“In his art, like meditation, the essential geometry remains the same, but the meaning changes,” says Vajpayee.
The exhibition which is scheduled till March 18, has a total of 44 canvases and paper works on display.
The exhibition displays a spectacular explosion of colours and sublime diffusion of erotica into the spiritual from his vast body of work.
Raza, a stalwart of the Progressive Modern artists group, says he finds inspiration both in introspection and in the outside world.
While his iconic Bindu, and the geometrical shapes remain constant in his work, the difference, ‘lies in what he does with colours.’
Black, the Padma Shree awardee says, is the mother of all colours. It is the point from where all energy in the universe emanates as well as the point into which the energy converges, referring to the Black Bindu from among his recent artworks.
“He speaks the language of colours and believes that the colours must be such that they can speak not only to the readers, but also to each other,” Ashok Vajpayee, Chairman, Lalit Kala Academy stated.
Raza’s work is a reconciliation of opposites.
“In his work, the sacred and the sensuous; the spiritual and the erotic co-exist,” says Vajpayee.
A common pattern evident in Raza’s works is the existence of white spaces on canvas, deliberately left unpainted, often giving a three-dimensional effect.
“This he does to assert the notion that a painting is a panting on canvas,” says Vajpayee who claims to have known the artist for more than three decades now.
Growing up in Barbaria in Madhya Pradesh to a forest ranger father Raza was trained in art at Nagpur and Bombay. He has been influenced by nature from his early childhood, which is reflected in his artworks
In one of his paintings, Raza expresses his impression of Chhattisgarh in an uncanny combination of Bindu and the brush strokes in water colour.
“In his art, like meditation, the essential geometry remains the same, but the meaning changes,” says Vajpayee.
The exhibition which is scheduled till March 18, has a total of 44 canvases and paper works on display.
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