BENGALURU:The last time veteran artist Manickam Senathipathi was in the city was way back in 1984. “That was such a long time ago. The city has changed so much over the years. It was lovely to be back, even if it was only for a day,” he says. Now, over 78-years-old, the artist is holding an exhibition called ‘An Ode to Life’ at the Gallery Time and Space in the city.
Mirroring everyday life
Known for his representations of Indian Gods and Goddesses, his works infuse mythology with human themes, setting them in contemporary times. “While I do use characters from the Mahabharata or Ramayana, most of my paintings circle around themes such as love and affection. Human behaviour and emotion motivate me. This can be found anywhere, even among the gods,” he says. From silent faces and individuals to scenes and textures from nature, Senathipathi has a way capturing images from everyday life. “Another theme I like to work with is insecurity. Every day, you hear of some tragedy happening in different parts of the world. With so much conflict happening around us today, life has become so unstable. I try to capture such emotions on paper,” he says.
His current exhibition features some of his previous works, as well as new work. The paintings exhibit human emotions in different forms. Some of the titles in this collection include ‘Mother and Child’, ‘Affection’, ‘Hide and Seek’, and ‘Fire’. An important aspect of his work is the lines in the figures, which resonates with the style of the Madras Movement, where importance is given to the expressivity of the line. Some of previous works exhibited in the ‘Insecurity’ series, includes paintings made in another one of his signature medium- metal relief.
Of humble beginnings
Hailing from a small village on the outskirts of Chennai called Cheyyur, Senathipathi comes from humble beginnings. “I was surrounded by paddy fields. Even the closest school was three to four km away. We had to take a bullock cart to reach every morning. That was my life before to coming to Chennai.” But that was where his love for art began. “There was inspiration everywhere. Every year, our school held an art competition before its annual day. Throughout my time there, I kept winning it. It was around that time my art teacher told me to take this talent and turn it into a profession.” Upon his teacher’s suggestion, he went on to study at the Government College of Arts and Crafts,in Chennai.
Having spent most of his life in the village, Senathipathi’s creative process as an artist has led him to broaden his horizon and work on different mediums including ink, oil, acrylics and metal. “But age has become an issue. As you grow older, you don’t have the energy to work on other mediums. For now, I work mostly with oil paintings,” he adds.
His paintings and metal reliefs have been exhibited all over the world, including places such as London, France, Netherlands, Belgium and West Germany. Currently the president of the Cholamandal Artists’ Village, age won’t stop him from working. “I’ll continue working as long as I can. Each painting takes it own time. Only when I’m satisfied with what I’ve done will I leave my work,” he concludes.His art exhibition is on at Gallery Time and Space, Lavelle Road, till March 3.
Spearheaded the Madras Movement
During Senathipathi’s time in Chennai, he met KCS Paniker, founder of the famed Cholamandal Artists’ Village. “We had organized a few art shows towards the end of my time in college. It was during one of those functions that I met Paniker. We hit it off instantly. He asked me what I was going to do in the future, to which I said I had no idea. Then, he asked me to join his group,” says Senathipathi. He joined a group of seven artists who, acquiring land in 1964, moved there and started a small village for artists. They went on to spearhead the Madras Movement, which focused on regional and folk culture in art. “Slowly, artists from all over came to settle down in the village. Each member was given a little space. In the beginning, it was a little hard as we had to get by with whatever we earned from our work and our sales. It slowly developed, and has now becomes the country’s largest community for artists,” he says. Equipped with their own houses, studios, gallery, theatre, workshop and a museum, the Cholamandal Artists’ Village celebrated 50 years in 2017. “We’ve come a long way from when we first began,” says Senathipathi.