New Delhi, April 19 (Inditop.com) Veteran contemporary artists Michael Morris, Carmen Poenaru, Lee Waisler and Karl Wiebke are bound by a common thread — devoted to capturing the shades of India.
Their art is coloured by scapes of Indian life as diverse as abstract surrealism, Buddhism, Hinduism, the Rajasthan countryside, north Indian miniatures and Sal leaves – a hardwood tree – from the country’s lush tropical woodlands in a rich colour palette.
The foursome are exhibiting “some of their best indigenous canvases” at an exhibition, “Colour Code-Decoded”, at the Paintbrush and Chisel gallery at the nouveau art enclave in Lado Sarai in the capital — home to at least a dozen new minimalist galleries.
“Colour Code-Decoded” is the inaugural show of the gallery that opened its doors Saturday.
“We do not want to join the list of galleries in the capital which usually exhibit Indian art. We wanted to offer global art to the capital and wean art lovers away from branded art, artistic paraphernalia like expensive catalogues and glitzy openings. The volume of exchange between Indian and global artists has been steadily increasing over the past three decades. We wanted to capture India from a global perspective at affordable prices,” gallery owner Ravi Chadha told IANS.
For Chadha and his son Bharat, the art gallery was a “natural extension of their traditional family business of Feng Shui consultancy, artifact trade and alternative healing”.
“Affordable art has become a lifestyle accessory for the upwardly mobile. We want to cater to this segment,” he said.
The works blend beauty with affordability.
California-born Waisler, who exhibited at the National Gallery of Modern Art in 1998, uses a variety of material like pigments, sand and gesso for abstract compositions that he carries forward from the California abstraction school.
His compositions are inspired by Hinduism and Buddhism – two faiths he was inspired by through his “association with philosopher J. Krishnamurti and Indophile artist Beatrice Wood”.
“At the time, when the opportunity to exhibit my works in India came, I did not remotely realise as I do now, having spent five months in India, the extent to which the experience of working and living in India has deepened me emotionally and spiritually… In Indian miniatures, the most unlikely (to the Western eye) colours co-exist in the most unlikely juxtaposition and they succeed splendidly,” Waisler said.
Eleven of his “Made in India” abstraction series in mixed media are on display at the exhibition.
Belfast-based Michael Morris (68), who exhibited his “monochrome and multi-colour textured bands” at Art Konsult gallery Haus Khaz in 2009, is known as one of the early pioneers of the mass-surrealist art movements that is an interplay between mass media, pop art, contemporary values and surrealist idioms of imageries.
His “Jewel of India and Baisakhi” colour bars – a series that he created in India in 1998 – that are being exhibited is a collection of “textures and floral forms” in four-colour and monochrome shades. “The brilliantly dressed ladies everywhere in India and the vibrant colour combination of the sari and choli inspired me,” he said.
Romanian artist Carmen Poenaru exhibited in India in 1998 and 1999. She came to India in 1995 on a UNESCO bursary programme at the Sanskrit Kendra and visited Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. She was influenced by the array of material and colours in the art of rural India.
Her mixed media series featuring leaves of Sal trees painted with acrylic and metallic pigments at the exhibition is a comment on the harmony between ecology and aesthetics through colours.
Germany-based Karl Weibke’s muted “monochrome layers and multi-textured” compositions in complex patterns reflect that “beauty is not a platform for practice but a consequence of his art.”
The price bands of the canvases vary between Rs.50,000 and Rs.100,000.
