HYDERABAD: Walk in — you will find yourself contemplating, amidst the inspiring introspection and reflection. The gallery is lined with paintings, uncategorised, unlabelled, yet not surreal. Each artwork is visually stunning and intellectually challenging. The exhibition, titled: “Whose Memoirs? Whose Archives? An Empirical Study,” at Kalakriti Art Gallery, Banjara Hills, showcases works of artists from diverse cultural backgrounds, that will stir your imagination like none other.
This exhibition was brought forth by the Northern Kerala-based artist Om Soorya. Soorya believes that a widening gap between theoretical approaches and empirical practises in the realm of art is widening, and the exhibition is curated to bridge this divide. “As a practising artist, I found a widening gap between theoretical approach and empirical practises,” said Soorya. “In an empirical approach, people do artworks in traditional methods, and in a theoretical approach, people always go with the theory,” he added.
Soorya’s contribution is among the many pieces on display, carefully selected for the exhibition. The arrangement of the pieces, however, proved to be a task, as factors such as colour and size had to be taken into account. Some works remain untitled, allowing the viewer to form their interpretations. “Sometimes it is very difficult to title the artworks right. You cannot title some works as the viewers stop for the title and they won’t go beyond that, they will stop with that,” Soorya says.
Debosmita Samanta, one of the participating artists, shares, “It is not only about getting fame or name. It takes one month for me to finish a painting. As I am given thirty days for a painting, through this exhibition I can invite people to be part of my world and the practice that I have gone through.” She goes on to explain, “When you see a painting, you see the strokes of the brush. During Covid-19 time, exhibitions were continued in a virtual platform and I have found out that maximum people didn’t like it that way because seeing a painting in a gallery with your own eyes, you feel it. Sometimes you see even the brush hair on the canvas, and that is something you cannot see in a virtual exhibition.”
The exhibition is an opportunity to bring together different perspectives and experiences, creating an inclusive and thought-provoking display of art. As Debosmita suggests, “It is a must-see for anyone interested in exploring the intersection between theoretical and empirical approaches to art.”
Harmeet Singh, the manager of the Kalakriti Art Gallery, said, “We started preparing for this exhibition almost a year; it was a long process. We have been associated with Om for a very long time now, almost a decade. He got 22 artists from different places in India and curated an exhibition. Curation is getting different artists on board and selecting their particular segment of artworks because usually, artists do many thematic series of works.” The exhibition will remain open to the public until 15 February.