The architecture of Puducherry buildings — both Indian heritage and French colonial constructions — inspired Mumbai-based artist Prashant Prabhu to paint a whole series on it. The artist, who was on a 10-day visit to Puducherry last year, says that whether it rained or shined, he used to sit for hours in front of the buildings, observing them, and painting the same on his canvas. “I used to wander alone and paint from morning to evening. I finished around three to four paintings a day,” says Prashanth, whose works are part of the ongoing exhibition Scapes and Landscapes at Sarala Art World.
Besides Puducherry, Prabhu has travelled to Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Gujarat among other places, just to capture the scenic places on canvas. He says, “My paintings are not the exact representation of the buildings. It is how I perceive it. It is a minimalist contemporary work, I do not work on making it beautiful, but on conveying the concept.” He adds, “And all these works go directly to the gallery, it’s not like I do half the sketches on location and work on it later.”
While Prabhu’s works cover the architectural side of Puducherry, Kolkata-based artist Anindaya Roy’s paintings blend the spiritual and modern lifestyle of the city. “In my paintings, I bring in the traditional motifs and modern way of living of a particular place. For example, in the paintings that I have done in Puducherry, there are traditional craftsmen, Auroville buildings, temple motifs, motorcycles and people dressed in modern clothes,” says Anindaya, who travels around the country and captures both the traditional and modern faces of a place. The other artists who are part of the exhibition include Amit Kalla from Rajasthan and RS Shakya from Lucknow. The exhibition is on at Sarala Art World till May 31.