Is Tarah, an exhibition of new whiff paintings by Amitabh Ashesh which recently concluded at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, was the first of a two-part series of his work that the artist is displaying in the city. The second, titled Is Tarah Bhi, will be showcased at Bangalore International Centre.
After spending years pursuing a passion, one develops a signature style, an artistic fingerprint unique to themselves. “You’re looking for new ways to create a new kind of image,” says Amitabh Ashesh.
The Pune-based artist who will be showing his work in Bengaluru says he has developed a one-of-a-kind artistic form. “Art work is usually classified as figurative, still life, landscape and so on. My work is an attempt to transpose attributes of one on to the other,” says Amitabh.
Artist Amitabh Ashesh
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
His style is the result of about a decade of work, he says, adding, “The paintings I’m showing are examples of stylized realism. Though some are more traditional, it is a new class of imagery based on compositional principles that I have developed. A major part of the work is new and its compositional structure is quite different from what has been seen thus far.”
Amitabh elaborates on how his work introduces new concepts and principles. “A composition may be in parts figurative, with an integration of other elements taken from across genres, such as a landscape.”
He goes on to explain how in one of his works, there is a woman sitting by the beach and she has sailboats for shoes and waves for a skirt. “You can’t tell if this woman represents a human character or Nature because the presence of natural elements is so pronounced,” he says, adding, “There are a number of innovational elements that are a part of my visual language. Space is warped and planes are angular.”
Describing another of his works titled Coral Rain which depicts a girl enjoying the rain in front of skyscrapers, he says, “The trajectory of the rain is ornamental and the raindrops take on the form of garlands. Rain flows across the city and the wind not only blows on trees, but also on windows that tilt and sway because of the breeze.”
Choral rain by artist Amitabh Ashesh
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Amitabh has named his ‘conceptual departure’ of art, Yufism. “Yufism is an ideational platform and not an aesthetic style. Much like a blueprint, it represents the base or the compositional structure of a painting. Using the same blueprint, one can construct a house with concrete and steel, while another could use glass or mud.”
“Using that structure, I may choose an aesthetic style that is traditional or soft and rounded or edgy, but they will have the same underlying structure.”
Amitabh says almost all of his work is accompanied by a few lines of poetry he has penned, “that capture some of its essence,” adding that in his work, “women are represented in avant-garde ways.”
The artist, who was formerly in the advertising sector, says the reason behind breaking his Bengaluru exhibition into two segments at different venues, was to cater to different audiences. About 50% of his work is on paper using charcoal and pastels, while the other half is oil on canvas.
Light of Matter by artist Amitabh Ashesh
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Though his talent was recognised when he was still a child, Amitabh came into his own as an artist when he made a switch in his career and studied painting at Stanford University in California. The Bay Area figurative movement leaders who mentored him, further influenced his creativity and thinking.
“It has been a long journey; it has taken a great deal of learning and hard work, in the pursuit of an interest,” says the artist talking about the show, which has been curated by Carmela Brunetti, an art historian and CEO of ArtonWorld, in Rome.
While Is Tarah was showcased at Chitra Kala Parishad from July 21 to 26 , Is Tarah Bhi will be displayed at Bangalore International Centre from September 7 to 11, before it moves to Mumbai’s Kamalnayan Bajaj Gallery as Isee Tarah from October 27 to 31.
Published – September 05, 2024 11:52 am IST