Philosophical questions are answered through abstraction in this exhibit by Government College of Fine Arts alumni
Philosophical questions are answered through abstraction in this exhibit by Government College of Fine Arts alumni
Color today characterizes Nungambakkam’s Gallery Veda, in the form of textured canvases that span the mediums, styles and thought processes that adorn the walls. It’s hard to miss a geometric canvas of purple, blue, yellow, green and orange – titled Golden Eye and located not far from the entry point, the work by Prabhakaran S, is a startling deviation from the rest as divided into quadrants Circles are formed from a flat surface.
Adjacent walls hang a series of abstract works by Venkatesh Balasubramaniam, featuring heavy brush strokes and settled paint spots; Facing it is a frame in which bright orange, blue and red fiber strips are mounted on a mirror-like surface called Alagaraja Ponniya suspending a movement in time.
From Artist Narayanan’s Entire Series | photo credit: special arrangement
This diverse showcase is interestingly titled 5 Art Bananas – ask curator Venkatesh what this means and a reminder follows: Maurizio Catalan’s infamous Banana Duct taped to the wall of Art Basel (titled comic) Gaya, which went for $120,000, which was later pulled over and eaten by a performance artist.
“The artists whose creations are in this display are “our own local bananas,” says Venkatesh. The bananas were quickly replaced, highlighting that the artist intended the actual art. The defining moment was how the industry is changing. Each of these artists is influencing the world through a social context. It also happens to be the idea behind Genesis.”
Genesis is a city-based collective, formed between 1993 and 1998, focused on a group of over 23 like-minded artists who were also alumni of the Government College of Fine Arts, Egmore. They started with a show at Lalitkala Akademi, and continued till 2008 when the collective shrunk. “There was always a focus on South Indian art, which deserved more visibility,” says Venkatesh.
Artist Venkatesh’s Interrelationship IV | photo credit: special arrangement
5 Kala Bananas, which was formally inaugurated by Bose Krishnamachari, is the first time since 2008 that the collective and its remaining members are coming together to showcase their diverse practices. “It took us three years to pull it together,” he says. Meanwhile, each artist has evolved into their individual practices.
Take for example the works of Ganesh Selavaraj: artists working in oil and acrylic on canvas have now settled on paper as the preferred medium. “Through the paper, he is asking whether we can approach a piece of art without preconceived knowledge or assumptions,” he says. Venkatesh’s work explores the concept of ‘idea’ as the starting point of life – the element that drives life. The installation of Prabhakaran is dependent on the text. In one frame he writes, “My mother signed my birth certificate; Today I am signing his death certificate.” A metaphor for the cycle of life, Prabhakaran’s work is an incubator space where thoughts push and pull each other to find balance. Alagaraj’s work is before us holds a mirror, and sometimes quite literally through his use of unusual mediums. And Narayanan’s totality explores the spiritual journey of human life by eliminating the dimension of conditioning, Venkatesh says. He repeatedly Uses a ball of thread or thread as the motif to be revealed.
A Moment by Alagraja Ponniya Suspended In Time | photo credit: special arrangement
Genesis expects this momentum to continue. Venkatesh says, “We are planning to further show this exhibition in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, proposals are being prepared now.” The goal is to expand from five to 500 artists in the coming months. “I believe this will bring the Madras art movement into the limelight once again,” he concluded.
5 Art Bananas can be seen from 11 am to 7 pm in Gallery Veda till 23rd March