Logic in the abstract
Abstraction, both by definition and practice, is non narrative and because of this, it is rather tempting to seek commonalities within the works of different abstract painters. Even in the show Between Ambivalence and Criticism, a show of five artists practising abstract art at Art Konsult gallery, one looks for certain linkages, be it in texture or in colour.
However, any perceptible commonalities are superficial and each abstract painting does have its own particular logic and symmetry or indeed its lack, which defies the explanatory and linear framework. This comes through in Deepak Tandon’s works, where he introduces a quality of liquidity to the medium of acrylic applied on the surface of wasli (traditional handmade paper). The result is monochromatic patterns of horizontal and vertical ‘strokes,’ seemingly random, but actually skillfully guided by the artist’s hand and consciousness.
The viewer is tempted to perceive structures within the black and brown patterns imposed on a sienna background, of interiors of caves or cartographic constructions but the paintings defy the ‘ego’ of recognition. It is easier to perceive energies, kundalini and neo tantric mandalas within Sohan Qadri’s works that echo his continuous engagement with the spiritual and metaphysical. However, these are secondary to dense application of earthy vegetable dyes on paper, rhythmically interspersed with textures created by coloured string and mirrors embedded within the intense indigo blue and the hematite red of the paintings.
The layering of colours and textures not only create a hierarchy of levels leading towards a spiritual surge, but also reveals recognisable shapes of waves, lamps and light, boats, giving the paintings a temporal and spatial referential context.
The challenge of depicting/displaying ideology within the non representational is tackled in the works of Shobha Broota. The works are created at two levels; the base is the painted surface of the canvases, on which single coloured and multi-hued acrylic wool is superimposed through crocheting, weaving and tacking. This gamut of feminine and decorative activities to create rhythmic play seeks to create a meditative space. These and other works explore the potential of abstract art to represent an alternate vision of lived and imagined reality.
— The writer is an art historian, curator and critic
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