KOCHI: ‘Poetry and collage’, an exhibition of collages by noted artist Charlie Holt based on the poetry of Kavitha Balakrishnan and Kuzhoor Wilson began on Sunday at the Merzbarn gallery, England. The poems of Kuzhoor Wilson will be presented in voices of the poet as well as collages. The exhibition will continue till October 15.
Merzbarn serves as a symbolic connection and poignant memorial to the spirit and tenacity of the artist who worked there. It was the last studio where German artist Kurt Schwitters worked and it is now owned by the Littoral trust which is trying to keep his legacy alive. Kurt Schwitters was one the most important and influential artists of the 20th century who worked in several genres and media, including Dada, Constructivism, Surrealism, poetry, sound, painting, sculpture, graphic design and typography which came to be known as installation art. He is most famous for his collages, called Merz Pictures.
Kuzhur Wilson
Kuzhur Wilson is one of the major voices of the new generation Malayalam poetry. His is the voice of dissent and the break-off point from the generation that preceded the present. To him goes the credit of launching the first blog for Malayalam poetry. He has since published five volumes of poetry and a collection of essays. His poems have been translated into English, Arabic and Tamil.
Kavitha Balakrishnan
Kavitha Balakrishnan’s artwork focuses on bilingual poetry and writings on art. Winning Soviet Land Nehru Award for her painting (in 1989) she proved her talents as a painter right from the early teens. As an artist she is self-taught. She had, however, completed her MFA in Art History (M S University Baroda) in 1998 and later worked as a lecturer in Art History Government College of Fine Arts. She has two collections of poems. Her most recent publication of poetry is by Cycle Press...’Poems in a Matchbox’. She is also the director of the Trikana festival.
Charlie Holt
Charlie Holt is an English artist and was the Head of Fine Art at Liverpool Hope University College. Holt has exhibited widely in Europe and recently in Fort Kochi.