Heart that beats for art
A group of visitors crowded around Brazilian artist Meri Amanda Calero, as she pointed at her painting of an Indian holy man at the Durbar Hall Gallery, Kochi.
The oil on canvas showed a man, with an overflowing white beard and a thick moustache. The eyes and lips seemed to hint at a smile. A colourful orange turban adorned the head.
“I met this man in Jaipur last year,” she says. “He was a wise and deeply spiritual man. But I don’t know his name. We exchanged smiles and held hands. And I felt inspired enough to do a painting.”
But her second work is completely different. It is the painting of her 15-year-old niece, Sabrina, who lives in Ecuador. In Sao Paulo, where Meri lives as a naturalised Brazilian, she earns her living as a cardiologist. But every now and then she returns to her home country of Ecuador to meet up with her family.
And Sabrina served as an inspiration.
The image is of a young girl, with rouge on her cheeks, sensual red lips, but with a distant look in her eyes, playing the mandolin. “She is singing the pasillo, the national music of Ecuador,” says Meri.
“The songs are about heartbreaks and nostalgic memories.”
Meri got the opportunity to take part in the Kochi exhibition after she met Malayali artist Manu at an art event in Delhi in 2015. “I invited Meri to take part in our ‘Worldwide Art Movement’ group exhibition,” says Manu.
“And Meri readily agreed.”
On her first visit, she has a very high impression of Malayalis. “They are happy, relaxed, and have a helping attitude,” she says. “In Kerala and India, a lot of importance is given to art and culture, unlike in Brazil.”
Meri works on her art in the late evenings or early mornings, after her regular job. She says it is difficult to be a full-time artist in Brazil. “Whenever I get a chance, I come to India,” she says.
Her fascination with the country began when, as a teenager, in Quito, she saw an exhibition of Indian artists. “The colours were so bright and attractive,” says the 40-year-old. “I wanted to immediately come to India.”
But she could only do so in 2013. “I feel very happy when I am in India,” she says. “This is my fifth visit. As an artist, it is a place that provides me with enormous inspiration.”
However, Brazilian artists are looking westwards for guidance. “In fact, the biggest influence on them is the American artist Morgan Weistling,” says Meri. “I tell them they should come to India, to become better artists.”