Artists from Chennai explore individuality in matching patterns through this group show

Patterns, contrasts and a distorted visual sense characterize Gallery Veda’s serene space. One walks to see the geometric sculpture of artist Kumarasan Selvaraj spread across the floor. The name explains its purpose: to represent height through depth.

The artwork is set against the backdrop of a circular canvas that draws one through complementary patterns in concentric circles resembling a pinwheel: Saravanan Parasuraman’s series, from Efflorescence.

Similar But Not the Same Contrast is a diary by Kinetics Artists Group, a group of alumni from Government College of the Arts, Egmore. As the title suggests, the exhibition emphasizes the importance of individuality – even though the concepts seem similar, each has its own latent quality.

And so, the works scream similar traits, although each artist’s style is different. “We are from different batches. In 2007 we decided to show together and have been showing regularly since then. It started with five members, and now we are on nine members,” says Kumarasan. It was the late artist and his senior Srinivas who first gave shape to this particular concept, he added. The show attempts to honor that; One of the performing artists, Saravanan Parasuraman, wanted to revive the concept.

“Every person shows a specific trait. But together, people share some common traits – for example in terms of strength, social structure or education. Even in their differences, people are similar,” explains Gurunathan Govindan, a Participating artists whose six abstract canvases are a collage of colors and textures.

To mix the pigments, Gurunathan uses fabric rather than a palette that lets him explore the endless possibilities of each color. Each of his canvases tells the story of an everyday example. About his untitled work, which largely relies on pastel colours, he says, “I took my brother’s kids to an ice cream shop. The joy and excitement of the kids seeing the ice cream, its colors and the choices they had made me stir something. From the melted ice cream on his shirt and mouth, to the beauty and joy of that moment, I wanted to capture everything,” says Gurunathan.

The space, divided into several rooms and sections, is a mixture of dizzying canvases and geometric installations.

Anish Kalode Rajan’s work ‘Trace’ follows the trail of birds, depicting their various journeys and dimensions. The artist has a series of photorealistic paintings (acrylic on board) that sport impressive, minute details: lines that are broken by shadows, lines running into fatigue-stricken faces across rocky terrain.

Kumarasan representing height through the depths of Selvaraj. photo Credit: special arrangement