By IANS
New Delhi : Master of contemporary art Satish Gujral has unveiled an exhibition featuring one of the largest bodies of his work, the result of six rigorous years of creative expression at the Lalit Kala Akademi here.
This is one of the few times the artist has hosted an elaborate show of his works in the country with so many exhibits.
Titled “Reincarnated Forms: Glimpses of a Glorious Life Relived”, the show has 18 new works on canvas by the master artist – 30 metal, bronze and gold sculptures and a new series of installations called Icons. He plays with iconic renditions, delving into symbiotic associations of the past and the present.
The exhibition will close April 5.
The essence of his new works is energy. Though the origin – fused animal and man shapes – remains the same, the treatment is slightly different. The rams, horses and their riders are captured in various poses of motion and fluidity in tandem with Gujral’s belief that still denotes death.
Consequently, every object – including the sculptures and installations – is endowed with a hidden kinetic energy. The 30 sculptures in bronze and gold dust represent humans in abstract forms.
The new Icons series is an ode to a living legend who inspired his journey and help him overcome physical odds. In most of the frames and forms, Gujral as usual takes his cue from horses and plays around with them. The sculptures are full of metallic studded belts, leather hooves, armour-like saddles and intricate halters, reins and lassoes.
This is a new phase in the artist’s creative resume because most of his earlier works were miniatures and were related to textures.
A beaming Gujral acknowledged the change. “Art liberates, ideas convert. The fine point of an artist is what he formulates,” he said. Gujral is on a high. “An artist works in isolation and he waits for the moment when people see and appreciate his work. So, you know how I am feeling being able to show people my work after six years,” the artist told IANS.
Gujral’s mission in life is to paint. “I painted even last night. What do you do when at leisure? I paint,” the artist laughed. As for inspiration, “everything that has a poetic element in it inspires me,” the artist said.
Gujral is also an architect par excellence. His design of the Belgium Embassy in New Delhi has been selected by the International Forum of Architects as one of the 1,000 best buildings in the 20th century. He has been conferred the Padma Vibushan and a movie on his life is in the making.