If you’ve been to the Tirupati airport, it is likely that you have seen a Ramesh Gorjala work.
The 11 ft x 64 ft mammoth of a work that occupies nearly half a wall at the airport is almost impossible to miss. It lends the transit space an air quite similar to the one created by the art corridor created by Rajeev Sethi at the Mumbai airport.
Divided into brightly coloured panels, Gorjala’s work features Hindu Gods––Ganesha, Hanuman, Krishna and more. A collection of 35 of his works is currently on view at Vahana–– at Delhi’s Gallerie Nvya–– his first solo show in the last four years.
God(s) has perennially been at the centre of Gorjala’s two-decade-long artistic practice rooted in his childhood spent listening to rituals carried out by priests at temples. The stories that he devoured as a child with rapt attention soon started spilling onto his canvas in the form of picturesque retellings from Indian mythology.
Consuming mythological history voraciously continues to be an indispensable part of his research-oriented work. “When I read stories of Krishna, I visualise how he would have killed a rakshasa. Then I go on to capture it on my canvas,” says the artist. His works draw attention with their intricate patterns and detailed motifs, and at first glance, seem to bear resemblance to the textile art form of kalamkari. That is no coincidence.
Born in a family of weavers, Gorjala learned Kalamkari painting from his uncle and National Award-winning artist Theertham Balaji. The ancient method involves printing on cotton cloth by using organic colours and Gorjala’s art draws heavily from this centuries-old technique.
The 43-year-old artist usually does large artworks (4ft x 4ft or 5ft x 3ft) and this collection is no different. “Each work took 20 days to complete,” he says. For this show, however, he departs a tad bit here and there from his usual style. A painting by Gorjala will almost always have only one God as the motif. This time, he plays around with dual motifs––the Gods and the animals associated with them.
Ganesha is painted with the elephant, Vishnu with the cow, and the 10-armed Durga with the tiger. The compositions are a large portrait of God and the animal encompassing the canvas, seemingly doodled over with variations of the two motifs. The entire work is then brought to life with a medley of colours.
Out of the 35 works, he has created five in monochrome, a departure from his usually heavily hued palette.
Gorjala’s works occupy the pride of place in several celebrity homes, including actors Mahesh Babu, and Allu Arjun. A Kamadhenu painting by him was commissioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi a few years back.
Despite his wide acclaim, he continues to live in his humble hometown of Srikalahasti. “It keeps me away from the stress of urban life,” he says.