Launched in 2014, PhotoSparks is a weekly feature from YourStory, with photographs that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In the earlier 775 posts, we featured an art festival, cartoon gallery. world music festival, telecom expo, millets fair, climate change expo, wildlife conference, startup festival, Diwali rangoli, and jazz festival.
Chandar Kumar, Founder of Charvi Gallery, recently curated an exhibition on the occasion of World Art Day 2024. The exhibition was held at the Bangalore International Centre (BIC) for three days and then moved to his gallery for another ten days.
Featuring the works of 50 artists, the exhibition was inaugurated by the International Association of Art (IAA) India. See Part I of our coverage here.
The artist lineup, some of whose works are featured in this photo essay, include VG Venugopal, Amit Bhar, MG Doddamani, Manjit Bawa, Ramesh Gorjala, Seema Kohli, Suresh Pushpangathan, Anand Panchal, Anjaneyulu G, B Prabha, and G R Santosh.
“I look at art as a continuous journey and a constant evolution of the self. Explorations and reflections on the personal experiences are part of this journey,” multidisciplinary artist and art educator VG Venugopal tells YourStory.
“My creative approach has been figurative over the years, though I use a lot of realistic images. There is a significant surrealistic feel to it, but not the real context of surrealism. I use a lot of symbolism and metaphors in my compositions,” he describes.
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He sees art as a flowing river that often faces obstacles and uncertainties. It never remains stagnant.
“Overcoming obstacles are often part of the process and become experiences which we carry. They lead to a lot of understandings and learnings along the way,” Venugopal describes.
He has also been an art educator for the past 15 years, engaging with students of undergraduate art and design courses.
“I can surely say that there a huge gap between the contents of the school education and the professional courses in art,” he observes.
Art should not be seen only as a hobby in the initial years of schooling. “Art should be a core subject in school education, just like mathematics or science,” he advises.
Students should be exposed to the fundamentals of art, aesthetics and art history in a very professional way. “There should be hands-on exercises, workshops, museum visits, and documentation assignments,” Venugopal suggests.
He has been working primarily with painting and printmaking during the last 20 years of his journey. “I have explored video art and installations as well. I also occasionally do illustrations for publications,” he adds.
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Themes of his work include urban spaces, migration, and the struggle for identity. Metaphors, variations in scale, and repetition are some of the devices he uses. Depending on size and theme, his artworks are priced from Rs 25,000 to Rs 5 lakh.
“In addition to recent group shows in Bengaluru, I will be part of another show of Indian printmaking curated by US-based Saad Ghosn in Cincinnati next month,” he says proudly.
“Art is a form through which we can see the reflection of life as well as the exploration of a soul. Art not only make our lives more beautiful but also helps in building a beautiful character,” says fine artist Amit Bhar, Vice President of IAA.
He sees loyalty, patience and love for art as instrumental in reaching a good position in life. “Based on these values, I have created my own style of art,” he adds. His next works depict a mythological story about Vishwamitra.
The artistic journey is full of ups and downs. “There are many mistakes and failures in life, but overcoming them with patience leads to the right path to success,” Bhar says.
Such learning helps move forward in life. “Having trust in ourselves as well as choosing the right path are important,” he affirms.
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His parents in Bengal dissuaded him in his childhood days from choosing art as a career due to their financial difficulty. But he continued to practise art and won the attention of artists Niloy Ghosh and Paresh Das as guides.
He was later guided by Subal Jana from the Government College of Art in Kolkata. Bhar also did side projects like painting movie hoardings. He eventually moved to Bengaluru to work in a textile printing company, and then switched to puja decoration and art.
His first exhibition was at the Mahua Art Gallery, followed by other venues. A trip to Varanasi led to a larger body of artworks and a string of exhibitions across India and overseas.
Bhar calls for more art appreciation in society. “Many parents and schools do not give much importance to art once their children reach class nine. Due to this, the children who love art and wish to move forward in art are unable to do so,” he laments.
Art should be taught all the way through high school to class 12. “This help will children who want to continue with art as a career,” Bhar advises.
Both Venugopal and Bhat offer tips for aspiring artists in terms of attitude, practice, and expectations.
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Bhar cautions that he has come across many people who want to become established artists without much hard work. But the artistic journey is far from easy.
“To succeed in art, one must have values like patience, loyalty, focus, and love for art,” he affirms.
Aspiring artists should try to take ideas from good artworks that inspire them. “Building on these ideas, they should produce new art with their own creativity,” he advises.
“Along with being creative, one needs to be passionate, dedicated, open to new thoughts and ideas, and willing to change and adapt,” Venugopal advises.
Patience is required for personal growth. “It should be organic, for shortcuts will not last long. I think it’s also equally important for artists to be supportive and empathetic to other members of the community and society at large,” Venugopal signs off.
Now what have you done today to pause in your busy schedule and harness your creative side for a better world?
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Chandar Kumar
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(All photographs were taken by Madanmohan Rao on location at the exhibition.)
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