A huge painting of a Parijata tree draws your attention as you enter the Art Gallery Kamladevi Complex at India International Centre, New Delhi.
The work – in green and gold – is breathtakingly beautiful.
Just as I look around to find out who the artist is, comes a voice from behind, “This is one of the five trees that adorn Lord Indra’s garden (Nandan Van). This tree has fragrant flowers and rejuvenating fruits, and is said to have bark of gold and leaves of copper. It arose from the ocean of milk during the churning.”
A mythological tale I have heard/read many times. This time I heard it from the artist, Vishal Joshi himself.
Parijata, no doubt, has beautiful orange-and-white delicate flowers with a heavenly fragrance.
However, to capture the essence of the tree in the form of a painting is no mean task.
But then Joshi is known to explain the inexplicable through his paintings, installations and sculptures.
“When curator Uma Nair told me to make work on trees for her show Vriksha, Parijata was the one that came to my mind. Considered a blessed tree that draws negative energies and balances life, it should be planted in the North-east corner of a home,” Joshi says, elaborating about the tree.
This is the first time Joshi has attempted to paint nature.
He mostly creates abstract works with chandeliers, thrones and crowns; each done in spirals – his signature style.
The jewel-studded crowns and velvet-upholstered thrones in his paintings reflect the luxury and brilliance of gold, and yet seem ephemeral as the solid shapes gradually melt down into arbitrary webs of spirals.
“Spiral is not a form but a journey of developing my own language – of communication and of science and logics,” he says. He further adds, “Spirals can be seen in every aspect of nature. We see the form in vast galaxies, the tides of oceans, the winds, structures of DNA, seashells…”
Joshi has a deep interest in Indian mythology and spiritualism that reflects in his art. Before he begins painting on any subject, he does thorough research on it.
To prepare, for his solo, next year, he is reading about agya chakra (third eye centre) and Rigveda.
“As an Indian artist, my work should stand out distinctly amid international abstract artists and hold its own for reflecting Indian culture,” he says.
Joshi did his schooling from Banswada, Rajasthan, graduated from College of Art (in 1996), Indore, moved to Delhi and then to Mumbai, and now he’s based in Vadodara.
But one thing has remained constant – his love for exhibiting in Delhi.
“It is the national capital. Thanks to the presence of embassies and high commissions, its connectivity with countries all over the world is great, which provides an international platform to an artist. I love to roam round in this city, and over 90 per cent of my work is exhibited here. But this is not the place I want to live in. It isn’t a safe city...” Joshi says, point blank.