HYDERABAD: Noted artist and art critic John Ruskin said: “Once we see keenly enough, there is very little difficulty in drawing what we see.” While drawing can be dismissed by many barely as not-so-serious art, but the same has found patrons from the art world for a long time around 1500 AD with different media. Pencil drawings are no exception. They lend a mysterious touch to the paper bringing to life what otherwise can be comprehended only in colours. The chiaroscuro remains smooth throughout the lines, dimensions of the drawing balance the white spaces. It’s interesting to see Dhi Art Gallery in the city coming up with an art exhibition on drawing works by several artists such as Abhishek N Verma, Anila Kumar G, Kundan Mondal, Murali Chinnasamy, Sanket V and Srinivas Bobbili. The exhibition titled ‘Linear Accents’ will be on till July 15.
In one of the drawings by Kundan Mondal the frame is filled by eyes staring at the beholder. These are arranged in such a way as if they were layered atop each other. He has used charcoal on paper and the combination of light and darkness creates a dreamy feel to the artworks that he has put side by side on one wall. In the same category of artworks one can also notice another opus filled with drawings of men with their backs towards us while their heads are covered in diaphanous veils, the way they are assembled marching towards a common point is eerie. Maybe it’s perceptions in the dark alleys of mind that are unifying to come to a conclusion which the artist seems to have captured bit by bit.
The artworks on display are as different as the perception they convey. For example, the oeuvres by the artist Murali Chinnasamy are abstracts in pen and ink on paper. The corner surface of the paper seems to be eaten away. The drawings appear to be blooming with spiraling lines that have an address elsewhere. They fracture into coral-like oblivion that shade and at the same time highlight the white space making it a celebration of creativity. The artist quite rightfully has titled his artwork as ‘Frequency of Thought’. Other artworks in the same series reflect the deeper level of the artist’s excavation where lies buried a heap of unconstructed dream-space much like the limbo in the movie Inception. Interestingly, the waves travelling to one canvas from another communicate to the waves inherent inside.
The artworks of Srinivas Bobbili consist of a lot of stars and snippets from nocturnal timelines. He says, “I am much inspired by the verses of Rumi and somehow the thoughts that correspond to his poems spill into my works.” In one of his works we see a nude woman raising her hands slightly skyward while the stars seem enlarged, rising up and up in the firmament. The drawings attract attention as they connect to their own dots and lines.