Of pandas, potatoes, poetry

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A piece by Gong He

This year’s edition of the Indian Art Fair has finally come and gone, and after all anticipation the time for assessment has arrived, while the galleries and participating artists introspect on the lack of verve and enthusiasm amongst the viewing public.

The impact of the economic downturn on the art being displayed could clearly be seen, with the galleries banking on the masters and established artists rather than newer stock. In terms of genres too, the domestic and the international exhibitors seem to be going back to basics, the canvas and the brush, with a decrease in experimental and new age art practices.
The teacher-student pair of Volker Stelzman and Torsten Holtz attracted our attention at Germany’s Die Galerie show, where Picasso, Chagall and Masson were also on display. Both artists work with figurative art influenced by the school of Leipzig that excavates the human form within the painterly traditions of late Gothic, Renaissance and Mannerism in order to transpose the figurative into contemporary social realities. In Stelzman’s paintings, there is a restlessly moving mass of figures, dressed for the street or the play of life, all of whom are not communicating with each other though seem to be part of a larger narrative of life. There is a similar feeling of freeze frame in the upcoming artist Holtz’s woks that seem familiar and yet distant in their disconcerting lack of expressive communication.
Surprisingly, the works of the young Chinese artist Gong He at Shun Art Gallery all have a refreshing and upbeat feel. The effective small format works explore a variety of themes, from the violent to the whimsical and obviously it is the second category that is the most attractive. The life of a potato, as it grows from a normal root to a deformed form with eyes and fungi sprouting is visually documented in his works as is the imagined activities of a cartoon panda as it sulks, pouts and watches television.
— Dr Seema Bawa is an art historian, curator and critic