INDIA : Imagined in the Present, An exhibition

INDIA : Imagined in the Present
A group exhibition, where various artists represented their visions on the theme.
ideated by The Nirula Family Art Trust ( part of The Nirula Family Company)
http://thenirulafamilycompany.com/artists.html

The show was opened by Sheila Dixit (Chief Minister, Delhi) and was curated by Divya Nirula.
It was a privilege that my work was showcased along with some of the veteran artists of india, a special thanks to dear friend Arjun for making this happen.

i contributed two paintings :
Ram- the poised one with his vanar sena( army)
dimensions: 10 ft x 5 ft
Krishna- in a contemplative moment.
dimensions: 10 ft x 5 ft

thumbnail version of krishna paintingthumbnail for ram paintinga work in progress size- 10 ft x 5 ft.

works by other Artists.
Portrait of Mother Teresa by the most amazing Raghu Rai, it was an honor to be in the same show as him.A very rare Nanak in Bleeding times" by Veteran artists Arpana Caur.Sanjay' Bhattacharya's incredible Rahul Gandhi.Arjun Raj Nirula's "Three Stages of Buddha"

The exhibition was on for two days, and was greeted with an amazing response. Gratitude towards all those who took time out to come see and showered affection on the art. THANKS.

Preparations for the next show which happens early December are underway, will post more on that soon.
also,
Now my painting work is officially represented by 'The Nirula Family ART TRUST'. You can find them here:
http://thenirulafamilycompany.com/artists.html

About the book,
it's getting edited, the announcements can only be made once we submit it,
so hopefully that will happen soon as well.

THANKS again for bearing the crazy casual postings of an artist and returning for more.
Also a big BOW down to all the amazing art out there, keep it coming:)

Krishna- sketches 01

A bunch of sketches from the project,
these suggestive scribbles are the most enjoyable part of the process,
when you are trying to "Search" "Derive" and "Express"
and after the drawn moment is gone you quickly jump to the next,
unaware and uncertain of the results it's only in retrospect that you rationalize
that these random meanderings were somehow connected, like familiar strangers.
somedays you are surging with meaning, and somedays these scribbles
remind you of your imperfections ,
somedays it's anguish of not "finding"
and some days it's the happiness of "locating" a lost treasure.
these scribbles delicately hang between the fertile universe of the mind( the Idea)
and the final deliverable asked by the material world(book or a film)
at times i wonder,
that we are nothing but scribbles of someone 's thought
placed on the vast canvas of life,
trying to become something and eventually nothing again.

Sea

part of a story i'm working on:)

Draupadi

Draupadi , the woman in the story of Mahabharata.

sneak peak-krishna

"when the skies cried of sorrows with the flowers i sang
when unremembered dreams stood in silence
i like a swan carried them on my wings"

i thought this time let me share something which i've been working on for quiet sometime now ,
still not the full picture only a little sneak peak , few explorations and a panel from the book,
it's been quiet a battle with time and the finish , a mirage, but all of it has reached a suitable end, and few more days before we sail it out to the publishers,
i won't write much at this point and will save the details for later, and most importantly i owe a big "THANK YOU" (ya ,caps lock was invented for a reason) to each one visiting the blog and for all the humble appreciation, THANKS everyone!!!!!

Exhibition at LACMA, Los Angeles, Heroes and Villains - Heroes and Villains: The Battle for Good in India's Comics.

a very happy new year to all of you:)

recently an exhibition is on at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, titled "Heroes and Villains: the Battle for Good in India's Comics". it's on till 7th feb '2010

you can see a glimpse online as well:
home:
http://collectionsonline.lacma.org/mwebcgi/mweb.exe?request=epage;id=502130;type=803
gallery:
http://collectionsonline.lacma.org/mwebcgi/mweb.exe?request=epage;id=502155;type=803

The exhibition prominently features brief history depicting God's and Goddesses in comic books in india, namely amar chitra katha , virgin comics
their modern face and as well as some amazing folk art interpretations( i love these) of the epic Ramayan and godess Durga , which were the prominent themes of the exhibition.

my work on Ramayan 3392AD. along with works on Devi by the genius artist Mr. Mukesh singh (his work's just too terrific , do check out his title called"gamekeeper" and a short run on the tiltle for jenna jemson, lovely work), the amazing Saumin patel's work on devi ( his detailed layouts and keen sense to display the story is a treat),along with work by Mr. jeevan j kang ( on spider man india , beautifully rendered)were featured.

a special mention goes to the talents who colored the pages back then , ashwin for ramayan , thanks friend!and other's who colored the devi pages nanjan , kanna , mohan , thanks guys.

would like to extend my regards and thanks to all at virgin comicbooks(now liquid comics)
sharad devarajan and suresh seetharaman, gotham chopra, to Mr. Sekhar kapur and Mr. Deepak chopra.
thanks for a great gesture and an endeavor like this.

also thanks to avinash who very humbly have posted a review of the show on his blog , there are many other interesting articles there , do scroll through his blog.here's the address:

http://designhook.blogspot.com/2010/01/super-ram-and-durga-woman-contemporary.html
little nostalgia..so sum pieces from the exhibition and some more ..enjoy!