They are a group of artists from the land of the Bodhi tree, racing towards the limelight. ?Regional Race?, an exhibition of contemporary Indian art at Bodhi Art in Delhi (from 14 to 29 September), showcases the works of seven artists from Patna.
?It is a great opportunity as these young artists are displaying their talent outside Patna for the first time,? says artist Subodh Gupta, who is presenting the exhibition. The collection has 29 works of art, which include paintings, sculptures, drawings, installations and photographs. Explaining that there is no specific theme for the exhibition, Gupta says the attempt is to promote the collective works of these artists (who belong to the Patna College of Arts & Craft, from where Gupta passed out in the late ?80s) as they find it difficult to showcase their work otherwise. ?I hail from Bihar and I know how tough it is for someone from the state to make a mark, unlike someone from Mumbai or Shantiniketan,? he elaborates.
The works of Rajiv Ranjan, Sikander Hussain, Shailendra Kumar, Sanjay Singh, Tribhuvan Deo, Umesh Kumar and Uday Pandit have their own distinct styles. They vary from life-size paintings to single dots on the wall and the painting medium varies from oil on canvas, acrylic on board or canvas, to acrylic and handprint on canvas, watercolours on paper and mixed medium.
Speaking about his work, Rajiv Ranjan feels the canvas is his stage and he the director of the show. He uses vibrant shades of blue, green and red for his actors. ?My work includes childhood, dreams and maturity. I have tried to portray a stage where the focus is on the subject. It reflects the compilation of dreams, childhood, fear, enjoyment, bad and good.?
Sanjay Singh?s collection reflects his experiences in the Delhi Metro and in local buses. He has judiciously used bus tickets in his paintings which he feels will become obsolete in the next five years. ?I feel with the Metro running across the city, the number of buses will come down drastically in the next five years. I therefore think it makes sense to preserve bus tickets now as we might not see them in the future. So my paintings show Blueline buses, conductors, tickets, red lights, zebra crossings and petrol pumps,?
he says.
Tribhuvan Deo?s installation titled 18634.6 ft, based on his expedition to Leh adds grace to the show. The landscapes reflect the different seasons and are placed in conjuntion with Deo?s trekking accessories used during the expedition ? right from his jacket, shoes, gloves, walky-talky, toilet paper, helmet, medicines, knife and track bag. You get to see shades of a regular Bihar town in the sculptures of Uday Pandit titled Dhan ? an old Ramayana book (to convey the value of our mythology), in Gali, where street dogs are running one after another in a lane, Saat Kalakar ? a group of seven pigs and Poonji ? keeping valuables, whether it is money, gold, food or even guns.
Shailendra Kumar photographs the Chatth puja celebrations in Bihar where devotees offer prayers and then there are shots of labourers hard at work too. Umesh Kumar?s inspiration is life in a metropolis, which he titles The Metalic Metropolis. It contrasts the luxurious lifestyle in urban India, with the accidents, crimes and fears that are part and parcel of living in the city.
Apart from organising the show for these young artists from his home state, Subodh Gupta pays tribute too, by showcasing the works of senior artist Sikander Hussain.
