Art from God's own country in Hyderabad

The ongoing show at Alankritha Art Gallery, Jubilee Hills brings forth a series of works by six artists based in Kerala.

HYDERABAD: The ongoing show at Alankritha Art Gallery, Jubilee Hills brings forth a series of works by six artists based in Kerala. Each artist excels in manifesting a particular aspect and essence through his work that recreates the divine charm of the state of Kerala. Often, referred to as, ‘God’s own country’ Kerala is best known for its unbounded beauty and other spiritual strengths.

The state is looked upon as a retreat from urban life and rightly so. The land marvellously encompasses lush greenery, picturesque backwaters and mountains dotted with tea and spice plantations. It is home to many animals and birds, especially elephants and tigers.

The works by artist Nandan PV celebrate the quiet arrogance and demeanour of the graceful big cat, the tiger. The animal completely reigns over the picture surface.

On green, spotted with equally distant dots it takes a royal stroll, like that a monarch traversing on his domain. Rendered realistically the tiger seems to be unaware of any intruders or viewers. Caught in a moment of peace with his environment it relaxes and refrains from taking a stance of attack or retreat.

On the other hand, the works by artist Suresh Muthukulam are prominently inspired by traditional Indian miniature paintings. The line plays an important role in his works. Continuous, stark black and lyrical it at some sections becomes ornamental and ends in circular curves. One of his paintings depicts a man as seen from bird’s eye view, lying contentedly on his boat surrounded by numerous swans flying at varied distances from him. The surrounding space is a water body embedded with lustrous lotus blooms.

Densely endowed with lush greenery, one of the paintings by Ashok Kumar Gopalan is painted from multiple perspectives that grants the work a slight surreal aspect and stance. The interesting array of varied species of flora look fascinating and poetic at the same time. Similarly, Sadaanandan P too creates a poetic visual experience for the viewers through his works. His painting with a bird surrounded by lyrical flora has been rendered in subtle-soft hues that complement each other.

Sunil Vallarpadam, in one of his paintings, creates an abstract play of impasto colours, applied in thick strokes inside a simplified form of a fish while Sajju Mannathur, juxtaposes human settlements and nature together to reach interesting compositions.

The geometrical colonies created out of simplified lines surrounded by rich cluster of greenery and landscape look quiet as the artist refrains himself from depicting the inhabitants of these groups of houses.

The present group show reinstates the myriad aspects of Kerala that are aesthetically and spiritually unsurpassable. These works excel in unravelling some more anecdotes and aspects about the place that make it appear even more extravagantly blessed and lovable than we already know it to be.

The show will be on till September 17.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com