BENGALURU: On the white walls of Artisera Gallery in Indiranagar is a sliver-y wooden door that doesn’t just lead to another white-walled room in the gallery. With the door slightly ajar, ancient wooden pillars and a courtyard peek through, a small Tulsi ‘katte’ nestled among them. Entranced by this image from a bygone era, you might even want to step through, like a character from a fantastical story, into another world – but alas, it’s just a painting.
This installation is one among thousands of door-inspired artworks that artist KR Santhanakrishnan, popularly known as ‘door Santhana’, has created in his prolific 27-year-long career. “Every person who comes and stands in front of my door, I can see their faces – they are smiling and so happy. I can read it in their faces, and eyes – they go back [to the past], and only later, do they come speak to me,” says Santhanakrishnan.
Apart from being exhibited at galleries across the world, and sold at Rs 50,000 onwards, eminent personalities like Mani Ratnam, Sachin Tendulkar, Kamal Haasan, Pa Ranjith, and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, can boast of owning a piece by Santhanakrishnan. Because his first exhibition was held in Bengaluru, the city is particularly close to his heart. “My first exhibition was a group exhibition in 1997 at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath with students from my college. I remember Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw bought my first painting, an acrylic on canvas piece.”
Santhanakrishnan’s fascination with doors as a subject for his work started when he was a fine arts college student in Kumbakonam. “It’s a very old, traditional town with many houses also like that. Every day, I’d go to college by bicycle through the streets and I’d see these doors that were always open – I was inspired by that. Sadly, these doors are now disappearing,” he says.
Most of Santhanakrishnan’s pieces are multi-media works featuring brightly coloured 3-D doors that open up to paintings showing a glimpse of the interiors. Although doors have been a constant feature, his style has evolved over the years. “I first started with watercolours. Then, during my Masters, I started experimenting with wall textures and creating effects like the wall peeling off. Later, I tried 3D doors – first with a box, and now I can use large reliefs. Sometimes, I use old movie posters, fabric, wood carvings, brass elements and Tanjore art too,” he explains.
To him, the paintings are a conduit for viewers to reminisce about their childhoods, their family’s roots and connect with each other through those stories. He adds, “Everyone from India is rooted in small towns, so they’re able to connect with my paintings easily. They will come and see my painting, and immediately connect to it – they tell stories about how their grandfather’s house was like that, or they remember stories from their childhood. Not only the people who buy the paintings, but also their guests or family who see it in their homes.”
(Santhanakrishnan’s work, ‘Door’, will be exhibited at Artisera Gallery and Experience Centre’s inaugural exhibition, ‘A Realm of Possibilities’ in Indiranagar, until December 20. Alongside his piece, artworks by 33 other artists across India, including well-known artists like Gurudas Shenoy, Sachin Jaltare, Laxman Aelay, Ashok Bhowmick, Vinita Karim and Shampa Sircar Das, will be on display.)