After a long hiatus, the art season seems to have finally arrived — and how! There is almost an overdose of figurative art that makes my head spin a bit, for personally I find too many figures intrusive to live with, especially in the confines of a room. But within the open-ended space of a gallery, figures can be of great interest. They cajole you, wink at you, entice you, and allure you to walk into the mind’s eye of the artists to understand the fascinating trajectory of their creative impulses in intriguingly explicit ways.
Within this week, out of a surfeit of exhibitions that have opened in the capital, there are at least three shows that stand out for the sheer quality of the works and their curatorial practices. The duo show by Anubhav Som and Seema Sidhu, “Momentary Voices of Silence”, curated by Seema Bhalla, stood out for its intelligent selection, clean lines of display and not falling into the trap of showing too many works. The show is edgy and fresh. And yet the “edges” don’t tear, but are replete with a sense of lyrical contemporaneity.
Som has been sensitive to the voices of nature and man’s tumultuous desires. Often, he places a sculpted ladder as a metaphor of the constant unquenched quest of man. Sidhu on the other hand, has spent many yea-rs listening to the silent co-nversations of fellow passengers on her train journeys. She is captivated by these moments and
translates them on the unconventional mediums. Her works are a comment of those unguarded moments.
“Iconic Presence”, presented by Nisha Singh, is a group show of 11 highly creative artists, who bring in the festive season with their vibrant and energetic figurative works that appeal to both the scholar and the average audiences. The works are replete with the courage of conviction to interpret the pantheon and the human figure in their individual manner. The mix of artists is interesting as the string that binds them cuts across barriers of age and seniority. The artists include Manas Jena, Sisir Sahana, Prabal Roy, Nisha Singh, A.S. Chitrak, Shiv Lal, Neeraj Bakshi, Shashi Paul, Rajan Nand, Madhulika and F.V. Chikmath.
Iconography is a matter of great subjectivity and gossamer delicate like a poet’s imagination and when a group of artists congregate to paint iconic deities like Lord Ganesha, Goddess Lakshmi and Durga, it is like a veritable deluge of creative impulses that pulsate as lifeblood across the mind view of the creator and his audience. The show lends credibility to the fact that technique is an intrinsic part of artistic expression and not merely a secondary creative tool. The interplay of colour, the layers, the projection and progression of the movement is fundamental to the arti-sts’ evolution and insightful of their journey.
Steeped in Hindu myth and mysticism, Chitrak paints with faith and inspiration. He says, “It is deep philosophical thinking and interpretation of a universal science.” Manas Jena’s technique of painting the multi-coloured layers are reminiscent of the treatment of drapery in classical Indian sculpture. As for the highly creative manner in which Neeraj Bakshi’s work has evolved, he refrains from leading the audience or limiting their vision.
Artists Prabal Roy, Nisha Singh and Rajat Nandi’s lyrical styles illustrate ideas and consciousness of the nuances that transforms canvases into an act of veneration and appearance of indulgence. Nisha’s Goddesses, bereft of unnecessary embellishment are stunning in their sparse beauty. Just as Hyderabad-based Sisir Sahana, whose glass sculptures are lyrical in their frozen details. Scul-ptor Shanti Paul’s work are an amazing interplay of blending the serious with the playful and the weighty resting lightly on the heavy – rather like a contradiction in terms, but the outcome is very interesting.
The other show of consequence was Artspeak India’s Urban Space, Counter Gaze by Shruti Gupta Chandra. Her canvases unravel the complexity of urbanisation with strong figurative forms in an abstract pictorial language full of grids and staircases. According to Ashwini Pai Bahadur, director, Artspeaks India, “Her non-conformist subjects and technical brilliance make the same urban jungle where we have both met an endearing piece of art.” The imagery of stairs sets the tone of her latest series of works.

Alka Raghuvanshi is an art writer, curator and artist