Simple, philosophical and spiritual artist Kanth Risa, 33, has a straight-forward approach to life. For him, every tiny detail that one comes across in everyday life, including a stimulating conversation, is a type of art. The Hyderabad-based artist will soon be publishing a travel diary and his autobiography.
Risa, who hails from Achampet in Mahbubnagar district of Telangana, specialises in sketching portraits through sand dust. The artist, however, does not like to be labelled as a sand artist, as he feels it restricts his scope.
“I’m not a sand artist. Sand is just a medium and in my experience, I have never performed with sand. I always used dust. In that way, it has to be called dust art or if I use salt, it must be called salt art. These are just mediums and I don’t want to associate myself with mediums. I am more associated with the art. To me, art and artists are one,” he explains.
Risa is inspired by practically everything and firmly believes that art has no boundaries. “Art dictates almost everything that one experiences in everyday life. The way you walk, cook, think, speak—everything is art. That is the foundation of my life. I want to call my work as particle art, since you can create art even with tiny little particles,” he says.
It’s not just the particles, but even those who create art can come from just about anywhere—is a philosophy deeply ingrained in him.
“Anybody can be an artist. My mother has just started painting and she had never painted before in her entire life. She felt that painting is a beautiful way to be silent. I spoke to her for one or two hours and she just understood what I’m trying to say,” he shares. “Now she’s just painting in silence, without any doubts. I’m hoping that something like that can happen to many more people,” Risa adds, beaming.
“Art has to be like that—it’s very simple. You may not be able to draw big things, but you can draw a circle right? If you can draw a circle, it can be your own portrayal of art,” he quips.
Settled in Hyderabad for 12 years, Risa has designed sand animation presentations and performed for a number of corporates across the country, including Aditya Birla Group and Infosys, besides the Indian School of Business. He, however, reveals that his art is always spontaneous and that he never rehearses.
“I have never practised in my life as I don’t like to practice and perform. Art must be a spontaneous expression of that moment, that way even I am able to enjoy my performance. To me art and preparation are contradictory. Art is always unprepared,” he believes.
Risa has been acclaimed for his deep insight, his artwork and his simple philosophy towards life. He was also recently invited by a company in Detroit, United States, to speak about his work. Despite this growing attention, the artist likes to keep a low public profile.
“These days there is too much communication everywhere in the form of Facebook, Twitter, etc. I detach myself from these things and prefer to personally meet people. I believe human touch is also a form of art,” he explains.
Apart from painting, Risa is also an artist of words. He will soon release his first book titled Notes of Mushin. In the book, Risa documents in detail all his experiences while travelling. It is expected to be released by August end.
“Mushin is a Japanese word. It can be interpreted in several ways and it can also mean spontaneous-ness. The entire book has my own handwriting and pictures that I drew,” Risa says.
He insists that he neither has a profession nor a job or a career. The money he makes is often through remuneration given by various clients, for whom he performs. While the money varies for each gig, the artist asserts that he never really cared for it.
“I don’t have much money, but I have my time. As far as time is concerned, I’m the richest man on Earth. I work for, maybe, 10 hours a month. The rest of the time, I read, I go for a walk, spend time gardening, play with my dogs, etc,” he says.
While Risa is content travelling, sketching, painting and living life on his own terms, there is still something he desires—farming. “The real art for me is agriculture. I want to get involved in it. I just need two acres of agricultural land. A place where I can set up a little studio, draw, paint, etc. Sadly, landlords nowadays are not compassionate. They don’t believe me, when I tell them I have honest intentions,” he says.
Apart from Notes of Mushin, Risa is also writing his autobiography and will release it in the next few months.
