In 2012, Rahul Imandar quit his job as a Mechanical Engineer — that he held for 10 years — after he realised his true calling is art. Reduction, his second solo show in New Delhi and sixth solo overall, features eight of his latest oil-on-canvas works.
The paintings were created on the un-primed, uncoated side of the canvas. “Moving from the acrylic primed side to the raw fabric backside of the canvas shifts the physics of painting. The friction, absorption, movement, flow completely changes,” explains Imandar.
The works highlight the creative process involved in the ‘inward search’. Wordless thought turns into colour masses that also propel a viewer onto an imaginative journey. “In the last couple of years, I have become curious about the term ‘surrender’. How an artist can surrender to the medium, how they can let go of their presence to become a mere instrument in the making of the work,” he says.
Ever since his foray into art, Inamdar has veered towards abstraction. Artists Rothko and Nasreen Mohamedi are his prime influences. “The works by these artists can put a viewer in a contemplative space where time slows down. I experience purity in their work, which I try to bring it into my work. Musicians John Cage and Max Richter are other muses. “Even with the absence of a recognizable visual reference or a connectable narrative abstract art, music is able to emotionally move the viewer,” he says.
Apart from oils, the artist is equally adept with pigments and charcoal on canvas, and says each medium has its own pluses. “The tonal quality of oil colours and the flexibility provided by the medium are exceptional. Charcoal, broken or as dry pigment, does not just function as a colour, but also become the tools to move the colour around in unpredictable ways.”
Imandar feels that the scale of the work and the level of detail cannot be represented realistically on a screen. That said, the fact that most galleries have evolved into an online-offline model satisfies him no end. “I am pretty hopeful about the digital possibilities of experiencing art, especially the global access,” he says.
In a nutshell
Reduction, Imandar’s second solo show in New Delhi, features eight of his latest oil-on-canvas works. The paintings were created on the un-primed, uncoated side of the canvas