At a time when most artists are veering towards new media art, which includes the modern concepts of digital and interactive art, computer graphics and animation, 25-year-old Dushyant Patel of Baroda has found his love in the distinctive printmaking format of etchings, an intaglio (Italian for ‘cut in’) method in which damp sheets of paper, held under great pressure, draw ink out of recessed areas of metal plates.
Etchings use a chemical process in which the plate is first covered with an acid-resistant ground, and then worked on with an etching needle. The metal exposed by the needle is recessed by the action of an acid bath. In this process, the artist may transfer the image onto the plate from a drawing or work directly on the metal. Quite an acidic task, you would say. It is in keeping with this vision of promoting art forms that have been overshadowed by the current blitzkrieg of new media that Gallerie Ganesha has organised a solo show dedicated to Patel’s etchings.
Featuring 45 of the young artist’s works, the show is testimony to Patel’s ideas about the human being, male-female relationships and his own relationship with his immediate surroundings, which he brings out using symbols like apple, crow, cactus, swing and so on.
“Patel’s etchings attracted me because of their immensely beautiful graphic quality. It’s a complicated process but it’s also immensely interactive. Patel is also the recipient of the Arts Ananda Trust which was given to him after a nationwide search for young talent,” says Shobha Bhatia, director, Gallerie Ganesha.
While etchings can be made on various metals, Patel has chosen to opt for zinc plates, using different techniques like line bite, aquatint, speed bite, deep etchings as per the demand of his works.
And what attracted the artist to this art form when his contemporaries have mostly switched to the more sensational new media art? “While studying at MSU (Baroda), I was exposed to a lot of techniques, including etchings. Life in Rajkot and Baroda was slow and simple and I was inspired by my surroundings. I wanted to explore relationships through my work, be it relationship among humans or that between man and nature, and I realised that etchings was the best medium for my subject matter,” says Patel, who took up art much against the wishes of a businessman father but encouraged by a more supportive mother. “The effects produced in etchings are magical. Etchings provide me with the perfect technique of creating a gradation of the background which gives an other-worldly feel to the concepts in my work,” he adds.
Inspired greatly by English printmaker David Hockney, Patel creates metaphorical images, which vividly reflect his sentiments, emotions and excitements. For instance, his work Brimming Desire, as the title suggests, talks about the unrequited desires of a human being, while Wedding Car speaks the language of youngsters all over the world who have a romantic notion of marriage. Morning Dreams is about how the middle class dreams of a perfect home, while some of his other works like Silent Desire, Piggy and The Pink depict the unsaid dynamics between male and female relationships in a metaphorical way.
While etchings will continue to remain his first love, Patel promises to soon begin work in other forms of printmaking.
For those who are fond of etchings, they can get a glimpse of Patel’s works at the gallery in Greater Kailash, New Delhi, which will be on display till November 20.