Angular spaces

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A work by S Harsha Vardhana

S Harsha Vardhana’s latest show of mixed media works Ideations: Colour, Form, Dimension and Space continues his engagement with textures and geometric forms, especially the triangle. A former technocrat, now a self taught artist, Harsha Vardhana, has an excellent artistic pedigree and exposure to varied aesthetic influences that get reflected in his works. His abstract works are dominated by the use of earth colours in variegated but subtle tones, delving into the primeval and the organic.

Despite the recurrence of the triangle in many forms: as multiples, inverted, shadowy, in play with other squares and planes, the artist avers that the form per se is devoid of ascribable symbolism. It is sustained by its dialogue with the visual space within which it is embedded, and therefore allows the viewer to interact with it from his or her own perspective rather than be influenced by the artist’s intentionality or referentiality.
At first glance it appears that the conjoint and disparate triangles do have a form; some seem to be multi tiered sails of a sea vessel set within a texture that suggests waves of water, or a window aperture, or a distant horizon set in different hues. Others are even more familiar, being reminiscent of wall paintings and diagrammatic depiction of human and animal forms in Mesolithic and folk — tribal cultures
However, one may also view these as elements of artistic language, line, form, perspective, that do not necessarily speak in known tongues, rather the elements are an expression whose visuality is the only clue to the text. The deeply textured backdrops are painted in subdued, earthy colours such as rust, olive with delicately etched patterns. Harsha Vardhan’s palette is deeply Indian as is his ideational and consciousness, placing his paintings firmly within an organic, ethnic ethos.