Taking inspiration from his spiritual lineage of Aghora and Tantra, Guru Bharat Thakur has organised his solo show 'Prayag - The Inner Journey' at Visual art gallery, India Habitat Centre. The exhibition which is open for public display from January 7-10, is showcasing three major bodies of work; his self-portraits, portraits of babas and sculptures.
In his revelatory self-portrait series 'Aham', one can see the artist displaying an intense and piercing gaze inward, inspired by the paradigms of Aghora as well as Tantra. These portraits are realistic and draw the viewer in with their hyper-real likeness and the sheer force of the grotesque, which makes the viewer take a step back and introspect.
In this series, Bharat is delving deep into the human mind and soul to cull into the dark recesses to reveal what is yet unknown.
In the paintings on the Aghori babas, Bharat's intimacy with the subject and his unbridled passion and energy can be seen in his unique approach of form, colours, and textures. The collection reflects most of his turbulent and roller-coaster life which is about exploring different dimensions and how to bring about something that only a sculpture or an installation can achieve. In the ongoing exhibition, he is presenting a totally different kind of sculpture- kinetic structure.
Being a multidimensional artist, Bharat experiments with sculpture, installations and a wide variety of painting mediums.
Adding to his capabilities as an artist, no medium is too challenging and no subject is beyond contemplation for him.