‘Don’t want perfection’
24 Jan 2013 4:27 AM IST
Vedic philosophy talks of oneness of being. That ultimately everything merges into one, just like everything emerges out of one. While on the face of it the philosophy might sound simple, imagine converting that into art. Well, artist Satish Gupta has managed to turn the complex philosophy into what he calls ‘sculpturepaintings’.
With a series of works which form the exhibition Transcending Eternity, Gupta has attempted to capture the philosophy of oneness in his own unique way. The exhibition is divided into three parts — Vishnu, Shiva and Devi — which together encapsulate into Brahmin or the Ultimate Reality.
The exhibition comprises sculpturepaintings, paintings and sculptures. Sculpturepaintings, simply put, are small bronze sculptures that frame the canvas. Gupta has brought in the concept of duality — of micro and macro — into the paintings too which have a large image with several small images painted in the background.
There is also a huge installation of Garuda which took him six months to make. The colour scheme varies in the series’. For instance, the imagery of Vishnu has been done in rich colours since he is considered to be the provider. The 10 avatars of Vishnu are done in oil on gold-leaf canvas. The nine manifestations of the Devi have been done in colours of the rainbow.
‘I wanted to merge the second and third dimensions. And since I am both a sculptor and a painter, I thought why not merge both? After all, life is one and there are no barriers,’ explains Gupta. ‘I have tried to show life on macro and micro levels. There are billions of cells in the body and likewise in the gallery. The repetition acts as a mantra invoking the gods,’ the artist further explains.
Each one his works have taken months of research and then 3-4 months of hard work to complete. The research, that he has been doing for more than 20 years now, has taken him to various places including the Tirupati Balaji temple. He has been to lots of Shiva and Devi temples to feel the energy of those points. In Tirupati, he sat inside the deity’s chamber and did some drawings. ‘Each work is a meditation. I had to absorb them. They are not just paintings, they are meditations,’ insists a calm Gupta.
Is he religious? Gupta denies, adding: ‘Going beyond religion is beautiful. You don’t see any difference between the gods. Even though I am paintings religious images, my paintings go beyond that,’ says the artist.
Gupta says he intentionally keeps the imperfections in his works even though he can correct them (as seen in some of the works in this exhibition). ‘Sometimes it takes much more to do a simple drawing. For it to be alive takes a lot. Unless it has chi, the work is dead. The work could be imperfect but full of life,’ explains Gupta.
Does he strive for perfection? ‘I do but I hope I never achieve it. Because there is nothing beyond perfect and you tend to get egoistic,’ he sums up.
DETAIL
At: Gallery Art & Soul, Zazen Studio, E 20, South City 1 Gurgaon
On Till: Today
Timings: 11 am to 7 pm
Phone: 9811021898
With a series of works which form the exhibition Transcending Eternity, Gupta has attempted to capture the philosophy of oneness in his own unique way. The exhibition is divided into three parts — Vishnu, Shiva and Devi — which together encapsulate into Brahmin or the Ultimate Reality.
The exhibition comprises sculpturepaintings, paintings and sculptures. Sculpturepaintings, simply put, are small bronze sculptures that frame the canvas. Gupta has brought in the concept of duality — of micro and macro — into the paintings too which have a large image with several small images painted in the background.
There is also a huge installation of Garuda which took him six months to make. The colour scheme varies in the series’. For instance, the imagery of Vishnu has been done in rich colours since he is considered to be the provider. The 10 avatars of Vishnu are done in oil on gold-leaf canvas. The nine manifestations of the Devi have been done in colours of the rainbow.
‘I wanted to merge the second and third dimensions. And since I am both a sculptor and a painter, I thought why not merge both? After all, life is one and there are no barriers,’ explains Gupta. ‘I have tried to show life on macro and micro levels. There are billions of cells in the body and likewise in the gallery. The repetition acts as a mantra invoking the gods,’ the artist further explains.
Each one his works have taken months of research and then 3-4 months of hard work to complete. The research, that he has been doing for more than 20 years now, has taken him to various places including the Tirupati Balaji temple. He has been to lots of Shiva and Devi temples to feel the energy of those points. In Tirupati, he sat inside the deity’s chamber and did some drawings. ‘Each work is a meditation. I had to absorb them. They are not just paintings, they are meditations,’ insists a calm Gupta.
Is he religious? Gupta denies, adding: ‘Going beyond religion is beautiful. You don’t see any difference between the gods. Even though I am paintings religious images, my paintings go beyond that,’ says the artist.
Gupta says he intentionally keeps the imperfections in his works even though he can correct them (as seen in some of the works in this exhibition). ‘Sometimes it takes much more to do a simple drawing. For it to be alive takes a lot. Unless it has chi, the work is dead. The work could be imperfect but full of life,’ explains Gupta.
Does he strive for perfection? ‘I do but I hope I never achieve it. Because there is nothing beyond perfect and you tend to get egoistic,’ he sums up.
DETAIL
At: Gallery Art & Soul, Zazen Studio, E 20, South City 1 Gurgaon
On Till: Today
Timings: 11 am to 7 pm
Phone: 9811021898
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