Technology, culture, architecture and fantasy: The ABCD of our artists this week

Arup Naskar: Teller Of Dark Stories

As an artist, Arup Naskar professes to being experimental, akin to being struck by wanderlust amid the myriad pathways art has to offer. It naturally follows then that the mediums he uses are fairly diverse, ranging across acrylic colours, pen and ink, pencil, Nepali handmade materials or more, and his mixed media pieces meld fantastical forms that are often rooted in nature or society, brought to the fore with bold colours and a vehement sureness of brushstrokes. There is also a certain forcefulness and darkness in his art. Take for instance the piece titled ‘The Red’. In it, Arup uses the duality of red and black to stunning effect, portraying an almost mandala-like hypnotic centrepiece on a frame that evokes primitive art, subtly interspersed with geometric and other motifs in the thick borders enclosing the circle. Elsewhere, in ‘Last Minute’, we observe a lizard-like form contorted as if in panicked death throes, with an indication of violence around it in blood-stained gauze, a hint of spilled entrails, and the ghost of what looks like its pristine white soul floating away from its battered body.

Binoy Paul: A Worshipful Glimpse Of Culture

Harnessing unconventional materials and using them innovatively to fulfill the process of his creative imagination is one surefire way to describe Binoy Paul as an artist. Hailing from a remote section of the North East, his art naturally evokes the culture and experience he hails from, which is visible in the subtle touches that transform his sculptures. In his series titled ‘Ganesha’, Binoy uses paper pulp with acrylic to craft that ubiquitous icon of the Elephant God, who is widely beloved in the Hindu community across large swathes of the country. Diminutive and colourful, the Ganeshas he depicts are in full form and standing, usually on a pedestal — not in the traditional seated position that makes for popular iconography. They are coloured in simple, bright and appealing schemes of hues, sometimes with one hand raised in blessing and holding a sweet offering in the other. Clothing that evokes popular textile patterns of the region — an outfit comprising a dhoti, ghamosa (cloth draped across the shoulder), and festive top shirt — is commonly seen on many of his tiny deities.

Chaman Kumar: Art That Is Set In Stone

When it comes to inspiration, artist Chaman Kumar does not have to look much further than the vastness of nature — its indomitable spirit, sheer scale and unshakeable strength all somehow seep into the forms that he sculpts, transcending into esoteric, larger than life forms that leave the observer mulling endlessly on the versatility of earth’s bedrock — stone. Chaman’s art is also informed by mediums like ceramic and terracotta. It also follows that he delves into the aesthetic of old architecture as an influence. In a piece title Implication, marble is hewed and layered into a tower, coloured in a brick hue and reminiscent of edifices of yore. Angularities, unevenness, textures and more are all thrown into the mix. In another piece named ‘Impact of Earthquake’, terracotta takes the stage, juxtaposing the irony of an art work that is in reality carefully crafted, into the final product of a flattened, devastated, broken-down rendition of what a natural calamity can do to structures of humankind.

Dibyendu Seal: Dichotomies Of Contemporary Existence

Both an artist and a software engineer, artist Dibyendu Seal neatly marries this dichotomy into his art work, making for a fascinating marriage of sights that form a part and parcel of urban life for many in the modern world. Elements from the world of computers and gadgets are interspersed with organic life forms from nature in his pieces, highlighting the poignancy of existence in a contemporary world. His series titled ‘Circuit of Expression’, rendered in mixed media, watercolours and acrylic on canvas board, manages to showcase this duality in a delicate, eye-catching manner. In one piece, a keyboard and ornate architectural sketches are layered onto each other on a parchment like base, melding into one another in fading, fragile colours; in another, a darkened, projector-like window turns into a screen gazing onto a pastoral, countryside image, which is suddenly highlighted by a floating cursor, drawing our attention to an nearly hidden pen drive stuck into the side of frame.

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