CHENNAI : Art is a creation which comes from the vivid imagination of an individual, bringing alive the essence of dreams to a beautiful form. Walking inside the Lalit Kala Academy Hall for the art exhibition held by the Kalakshetra alumni, students, and faculty, felt serene. Paintings on the walls and sculptures displayed were transcendental. The art exhibition was held to commemorate K Sreenivasulu, a veteran contemporary art-ist of modern India.
When asked to choose a piece from the entire collection of the exhibition, S Dhinakarasundar, an artist and a faculty of Kalakshetra Foundation chose a painting of Lord Krishna by the late K Sreenivasulu. Talking about the painting, he explained, “The way the artist has painted on a plastic sheet shows the intricate art work. The artist’s use of colours interspersed with folk tradition and modern aesthetics is unique and intriguing.”
He walked us through a few of his collography prints done on lotus leaves, explaining how the leaves were first preserved with chemicals and then painted using natural rangoli colours. “The lotus leaves symbolise purity and enlightenment,” he said. Lakshmi Krishnamurthy, another artist believes in doing research before taking up a project. Her collections at the exhibition were mostly inspired from Hindu mythology.
The technique employed was partly Kerala mural style — using natural pigment colours and coconut water. Kavitha Prasad, an architectcum- artist and a fan of JMW Turner, says her style of painting is semi-abstract. Our favourite among her paintings was one with the banyan trees and floating lotus, where the layers were aplenty.
“I concentrated on light and atmosphere — they play an important element in this painting,” she said. Artist and a sculptor Rajny Krishnan, who teaches at IIT Madras, displayed her paintings, called ‘The Seed series’ — all about life and survival. The painting called ‘Gestalt Dreams’ depicted the elements of life in the form of grains. “Both, the painting, and the technique are equally important to relay a message,” she said. Artists including Saju AD, Gowri Gopalan, and Chamundeswari were also part of the exhibition.