HYDERABAD: On entering Shrishti Art Gallery, the first objet d’art that catches your eyes is a pair of jute mat drawings. On one rug there is the drawing of a boy sleeping with his head buried in the pillow as a pup shares the space. On the adjoining mat are six crows in charcoal placed almost the way they stay perched atop electric wires.
Ask the artist Komal Mistri about the work and she says, “I used to listen to the Thumri singer Girija Devi. This opus is inspired by her music piece on love and separation.” The artist from Baroda School of Arts has another one in the corner among several other artworks by participating artists. This is ‘Emerging Palettes’, the annual art exhibition showcasing the artworks of 12 artists from across the country.
On the next wall is an opus by Sarban Chowdhury which is a set of porcelain tiles set against the backdrop of a rectangular wood piece. Informs the Calcutta-born artist, “I have baked these tiles myself. The drawings on them is of Manganese Dioxide and etching in Cobalt.” The chemicals change colour when exposed to 1300°C heat. It takes him one week to create one such art work.
Prashant Anil Kuwar’s artwork ‘Sex Manthan’ is a collective of four pieces which are etchings on paper. They appear quite sombre. The largest canvas shows a female torso with a lotus blooming skywards while seven monstrous reptile-like figures bind her with a rope which resembles a phallus. The blue-black hues depict the morbid mood of the artwork. If artists delve deep into the darker side of the psyche, artists like David Malaker have painted the metropolis melancholia in his work of a solitary figure dealing with urban crises.
The exhibition is in collaboration with Goethe Zentrum Hyderabad and is on till October 6