Abstract art takes a pure form in a new show that showcases works by five Indian artists
Vikas Malharau00c3u00a2u00c2u0080u00c2u0099s paintings capture nature in an abstract form
If one is to define abstract art, it may well fall close to what Pablo Picasso said: There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward you can remove all traces of reality.
Krishna Pulkundwar uses geometric forms in his paintings
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But that’s only if you have the desire to understand it. For those who don’t, it’s mostly child’s play. In American humorist and cartoonist, Alfred Gerald Caplin’s (better known as Al Cap) words, abstract art is a product of the untalented sold by the unprincipled to the utterly bewildered.
Vikas Malhara’s paintings capture nature in an abstract form
Despite the incessant criticism (that continues till today), abstract art has survived, inspiring some of the greatest artists across the world, and now, is the focus of a new art show, Masters of Abstract, currently running at the Jamaat Art Gallery
in Colaba.
Prabhakar Kolte paints layer after layer, which are visible around the edges of his works. In pic, an untitled work from the artist.
The show features 23 artworks from five artists based in India, including the very popular JJ School of Art professor and abstract artist, Prabhakar Kolte. "If you look at abstract art in India, it has gradually emerged from a shape-driven style seeking purity of line, shape and colour (think of SH Raza, Eric Bowen, Nasreen Mohamedi and GR Santosh) to more purer abstractionism devoid of any reality," says Pravina Mecklai, curator of the show.
Prabhakar Kolte
The show aims to highlight this pursuit to achieve pure abstractionism (highly visible in the works of Kolte, Pandurang Tathe, Maria Marika Koenig and Vikas Malhar) along with works of Krishna Pulkundwar, which though has shed the obsessive-ness to purity of colour, maintains its links with lines and shapes.
So, while Kolte’s works can be labelled as pure abstract, are formed after painting layers over layers. Koenig, who is of Greek-German descent, paints the sea in one of his works. Pulkundwar, also a professor at JJ School of Art, gives geometric form to his paintings, featuring festivals like Holi and Diwali in vibrant colours of reds, yellows and oranges. Malhara, a young artist from Jalgaon, captures nature, whereas Tathe’s works gaze at dwellings.
"A lot of people feel that abstract art is easy — just splash colour on paper or canvas; any child could do it. But it’s quite difficult to pull off. Of people who have not mastered the style, you can see discordance; you can see that it’s inept. But all the artists featured the show have mastered this art form. In fact, they don’t work in any other form of painting but abstract. Each artist represents a different form, style and thought in abstract art," adds Mecklai.
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