The messengers of love may be the cloud, swan, dove, Malyani (Flower woman) or a portrait , Art Exhibition Review

VERMILION VERSES a Solo show by Baladev Maharatha , held in Indian Capital Delhi,  showing Indian classical Art like wash paintings, tempera and acrylics on canvases at India Habitat Centre Venue: Open Palm Court Gallery Dates: 22nd - 26th Dec. 2010  , inaugurated by Ms Sangeeta Bahadur, Deputy Director General, ICCR on 22nd December 2010 at 5.00 P.M. Exhibition has been organized by Ashok Art Gallery in association with Art India International attracted a healthy crowd and became most discussed show of the year.

The Chemistry of creativity is the outcome of the ripples created at  the cerebral sphere.  The creator imbibes the nuances from various avenues and his creativity is catapulted to such a height, which is called colossal. When the creation reaches colossal heights, the creator becomes a colossus. His masterly uniqueness receives rave views. At times he tries to transform one avenue to the other and the visual media is acutely susceptible to that. Such is the truthfulness with Baladev Maharatha who has been quite meticulously transforming the great poetic lines on to his canvasses, Bucking Ford Paper and the poetry is heard to mind and soul of the viewer, with jugglery of colors and balanced space. His iconology is as per the lines of the poetry and at places, the same surpasses the lines even.

            Baladev is not a novice to this type of transformations. He had already so  many magnums opus poetic work form Kalidas to Kavi Samarat Upendra Bhanja the pioneer of medieval Oriya  Poetry.

Baladev stepped into the particular avenue by vividly osmotising the finer elements  of imagery, iconography and form and the essence would provide him to paint the woman, the Nayika in so called poetics.

            The mediaval poetry has been mostly embracing the “Bhakti Bhaba” and “Shringari Bhaba” (State of Amorous passion ) and are so touchy and lively by depicting the lucidity in love, the ballad of parting for love, exile for love, punishment for love and even death for love that the master painter has been deeply moved by all these descriptions. So the outcome is creation of visual poetry from poetics through palate to paintings.

            The painter compares the gracefulness and the aesthetics and femininity as depicted in the medieval poetics with the psyche prevalent with the feministic attitude of the contemporary women.“Sringar” happens to be the first  “Rasa” for which it is known as the “Aadi Rasa” Beauty and Sringar are having tremendous impact on human mind from times immemorial. The medieval poetics has profusely embraced such “Rasas” . In the poetry of Kavi Samart Upendra Bhanj rhetroric frame makes of medieval Oriya poetry, there are enormous depiction of “Maithuna” and  Sringar but still the women has been kept with highest esteems.

            With the medieval poetics, nature plays a pivotal role. The women are described with the imagery from the nature. The narratives are so lively that the painter finds it quite feasible to transform it to visual medium. Be it the God or Human beings all decline before love for its state of eagerness and belongingness. Hence love is the main bone of contention in medieval poetics. Both animate and inanimate objects are taken as the love messengers here with many texts of medieval poetry.

            The messengers of love may be the cloud, swan, dove, Malyani (Flower woman) or a portrait  of the lover or beloved all solve the same process of communication in love in a figurative shape.

The painter conglomerates all these nuance to classic  contemporary visual art. The aesthetics is a perennial phenomenon with the humanity which connotes the “Bhava”  the psychic emotion and the soul which intermingles the classicism attaining  the contemporanity. In the contemporary Creativity the depiction at times becomes individualistic but with the conventional themes it caters to vast socio-cultural canvases.   

            Baladev’s personals believe is that, art should communicate the over all aesthetics and need to be positive with a reflection of soul searching. Aesthetic, inclination and humanity is some how other necessarily required to tell the tale of the truth embedded within the verses

He also experiences, to create the invisible visible and to paint poetics in his own way is a thought provoking job absolutely. To make the time backward and to coincide with contemporary time,  is only possible by a creative painter.The pictorial theme which one  can conceive form Indian medieval literature, that must be acknowledged globally. So Baladev is glorifying the great poetic elements through his paintings. The poetic depict the creative pursuit gracefulness, ability, surrender, sensitivity, generosity, love for nature changing  life style, spiritualism, envy, revolutionary mind, wisdom and the eternal love of womanhood.

            Artist has very perfectly imbibed the images from the lucid the poetic lines with various visual descriptions like, the lucid body curvature of the female form as well as the gracefullness and the grief stricken facial gesture

Here the Shnigar Rasa depicts the foreplay lorry signs of the union and the nail marks are visible on the body of the Nayika is never obscence rather  realistically depicted.

            With some descriptions the pearl necklace of the Nayika is dismantled because of Viraha (parting  suo-motu and the doves take it as  food gnains and such unique description s have been accutly  conceived and painted by the painter.

            The depiction of natural beauty scape i.e. the mushroom beads spronting  on the ground in series has been portrayed  as the pearl Necklace of the nature as described by the medieval poets and so painted by the painter.

            The blood  red colour of the bathing pond, where red lotus blossom, there the petals spread over the water is a lucid colour jugglery for the painter

            Baladev has used the earthy smelled colour scheme suitable to Indian psyche and befitting to the concept. i.e. the geographical scape, architectural ambience and situations with his paintings. He believes that his paintings are the illustrative poetry which narrates or recites poetry in visual form and shape. The dominating vermilion  red back ground of the paintings narrate the detoriation  and degradation of the value based clarity that we did have in our past.

The Ashok Art Gallery is internationally known for one of its most important holdings: more than 2000 major works by the world's most significant Artists.Over the past years, as Ashok Art Gallery has become a major centre for contemporary visual art, the Gallery has built a strong collection of contemporary work of different artists, we became a sponsor of the STANDUP-SPEAKOUT Artshow, Organized by Art Of Living Foundation and United Nations.Organized an International Contenmporary Art Exhibition including artists from USA, The Nederlands, Pakistan and India.We have also participated at Art Expo India 2008, 09 Mumbai and India Art Summit 2008 New Delhi.

Contemporary Classics by Baladev Maharatha from 22nd to 26th Dec 2010

Coming Show Updates: VERMILION VERSASE
Solo show by Baladev Maharatha , will exhibit Indian classical Art like wash paintings, tempera and acrylics on canvases at India Habitat Centre
Venue: Open Palm Court Gallery
Dates: 22nd - 26th Dec. 2010
invitation and all other updates will come soon


The Ashok Art Gallery is internationally known for one of its most important holdings: more than 2000 major works by the world's most significant Artists.Over the past years, as Ashok Art Gallery has become a major centre for contemporary visual art, the Gallery has built a strong collection of contemporary work of different artists, we became a sponsor of the STANDUP-SPEAKOUT Artshow, Organized by Art Of Living Foundation and United Nations.Organized an International Contenmporary Art Exhibition including artists from USA, The Nederlands, Pakistan and India.We have also participated at Art Expo India 2008, 09 Mumbai and India Art Summit 2008 New Delhi.

Present-day Art Trend Colours of Orissa, An article by Kasturi Ray @ The New Indian Express

Krishna, in azure blue, as the commander with the timeless conch in one hand and the strength of horses and wheels in the background, summarised power. One among a series of paintings on Krishna by Baladev Moharatha, this one arrests attention at first glance. The theme, composition and concept have all the elements of a contemporary art piece that is rooted in tradition as much as in modernity. Dictated to by an inner voice, Moharatha put his creative genius into art and the piece speaks a thousand stories. Like Moharatha, there are many artists in Orissa and beyond who have given their creations their individual identity and are making that the contemporary trend. But the state has also been witness to a negative trend where many artists resort to imitation and follow the diktats of art galleries in their craze for overnight success. A state that traces its art history to traditional stone craft, temple murals, palmleaf manuscript paintings, Osakothi folk paintings and patta and palm leaf engravings and to date takes pride in it, had, at one point in time, seen the effects of the Bengal School of Art emerging as a major trend with the establishment of the Khallikote Art College in 1959.

It was in the 1960s that traces of modernism sprouted in some parts, largely due to the colonial influence. The trend continued until the 1990s after which the global contemporary style and the pan-Indian style took over most canvases. All these influences came together in diverse, eclectic, yet sustaining ways to shape the contemporary art scene of the state.While Mukunda Moharana, Raghunath Prusty, Shatrughna Karan and Dharinadhara shaped the traditional arts scene through their palm leaf engravings and patta paintings, it was Sarat Chandra Debo, Ananta Panda, Bipra Mohanty, D N Rao, Gopal Kanungo, Bipin Bihari Choudhury, Muralidhar Tali and Bimbadhar Varma who made the modern art scene extremely sprightly through paintings based on surrealism or impressionism. But it seems all is not well in the present day art scenario, with imitation finding its way into art more than originality; with the Internet proving an idea bank instead of personal experience and with financial considerations taking precedence over involvement and commitment.

Modern contemporary art brought with it a lot of scope for experimentation and provided tremendous liberty to artists. Some who did not find the state the right place to give vent to their creative urges left in search of greener pastures. But there were many veterans like Dinanath Pathy, Ramahari Jena, Baladev Moharatha and Siba Panigrahi and others who felt contemporaneity did not necessarily need an artist to sever ties with his own surroundings. “Moving out could give you a broader viewership since there are galleries galore in metros but it is the way you conceive of a subject and its analysis in detail that gives an artist’s creation its relevance. These days, Oriya artists are doing good jobs in New Delhi and their art is considered global now due to their reach but not many of them are thorough in the literary and artistic traditions of their state to give that traditional touch to their creations,” says Moharatha. To give a piece of art its Oriya identity it is imperative for an artist to know its history, art and culture and then translate it into art,” adds Moharatha.

For example, contemporary artist Jagannath Panda’s style of painting is in sync with the immediate surroundings of his home state Orissa and New Delhi, the city where he now lives. In fact, the artist whose paintings are mostly landscape-oriented, tends to draw energy from wherever he locates himself. In Panda’s work a routine event or any commonplace object is imprinted with a symbolic stature that is oriented to represent collective aspirations. He collates the best of both Western minimalist features, as well as Orissa’s folk art elements. “It’s very important for an artist to develop his or her individuality. For this, the artist needs to look inwards as much as he looks outwards and there is no point imitating someone. I would much rather be inspired by someone or some piece of creation,” says Panda. A piece of art can appeal if it is highly contemporary in style with strands of tradition ingrained in it, he adds.

Another Oriya artist, Anup Chand, also based in New Delhi, who normally paints on issues affecting society such as pollution, concrete jungles and tigers, feels the artists of Orissa are way ahead of their contemporaries in the country and abroad because of their typical Oriya touch in even the modern paintings. “Somewhere there will be a tinge which will identify an Oriya artist and his roots. And the best examples are Jagannath Panda, Alok Bal and Birendra Pani who are world renowned,” Chand adds. Chand’s pieces have glimpses of pattachitra in their decorative and simplified form and his motifs include birds, bees, animals and buildings.

Dinanath Pathy, an artist, writer and art historian explains the present trend: “These days, most paintings look alike. That is because saleability is the buzzword. Many artists settling outside follow what the galleries ask them to do as per the present demand. This stands for all artists irrespective of the fact that they belong to a particular state. So where is the scope for an artist’s own creativity? Art currently is more about going by what the stakeholders want,” says Pathy who is credited with painting innumerable masterpieces. “I call it the Bollywood syndrome,” he adds explaining that artists now want to be Page 3 celebrities. That keeps them away from painting based on their instinct backed by experience and knowledge.

However, most veterans, impervious to this state of affairs feel the present phase is transient. If Dutch post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh (1853-90) survived because his heart was in art, even the present-day wavering Oriya artists will return to their roots in their paintings soon. And that will redefine the present-day art trend.
Kasturi Ray @ The New Indian Express


The Ashok Art Gallery is internationally known for one of its most important holdings: more than 2000 major works by the world's most significant Artists.Over the past years, as Ashok Art Gallery has become a major centre for contemporary visual art, the Gallery has built a strong collection of contemporary work of different artists, we became a sponsor of the STANDUP-SPEAKOUT Artshow, Organized by Art Of Living Foundation and United Nations.Organized an International Contenmporary Art Exhibition including artists from USA, The Nederlands, Pakistan and India.We have also participated at Art Expo India 2008, 09 Mumbai and India Art Summit 2008 New Delhi.

Celebrated Odishan Master Painter Baladev Maharatha

 

His forefathers were operating with the weapons the Paik (warrior sect of Odisha) militia has been using in order to combat atrocities and to prevent intruders. The swords and daggers are still preserved in his household as the objects of worship which reminds the past warrior jugglery. But he left the weapons for worship and replaced them with paint, brush and palate. He also imbibed the nuances of the earthy smell of his village soil, the soil once smeared with the blood of the enemy. What he exactly imbibed? He osmoticised the forms on to his mind and his creative pursuit could metamorphose in to various realistic creations with the fluidity and mastermind. The outcome is nothing but his heightening of expressive capability. Periods of crisis especially seam to produce an artist like him and he could channel the anxieties of his time in to his work. Once the personality of an artist is admitted as a factor determining the character of his work of art is well defined. His creativity could function more and more openly as a means of self revelation though he opts for a formalist aesthetics, he could reverse the modernist evolution towards increasingly pure form. His realistic look towards his art is always having a postmodernist sub current within beyond. He is none other than art educator, painter, poet and visualizer. As Baladev’s paintings are having lucid lines and soothing paints some of his literary friends opined that his drawing and pointing are purely poetics so his creations are nothing but lucid poetry. One of his literary friends named him as Chitradev a befitting alias.

His mind never stepped in to endemic sphere, rather he is always exploiting the vastness and magnificence of Indian art, architecture and culture at large. He always creates the established notions and concepts that the piece of art achieves a universal appeal. His distinction is his Odishan flavor with the contemporary mullein and his strokes are dedicatedly distinct and meaningful.

The evolutionary process of Baladev Maharatha have passed through several phases like portraying the Shakti or Mother Goddess Durga on the suspicious day of Durga Mahastami in Dussehera festival day every year from which his creative pursuits could gather tremendous momentum. His profiles of Sadhus(sages), Mother’s with the supreme creations, transforming the verses of medieval poetry like Kalidas’s Ritu Samhara, the male chauvinistic attitude towards the devadasi cult and 108 forms of Lord Ganapati are some of his important series.

His training in art started with Khallikote Art college in Odisha and Then he made his masters in History from Utkal University. He had his special training in fresco painting from late Prof. Sukhamay Mitra, Viswabharati. But his first teacher in art is his mother who could allure him to lines and colors when he was only 5 years old. Her mother was her first admirer of his creation. When he topped the list of the entrance examination to be a student of art in khallikote Art College his family could fell his potency. As he was born and brought up in a rural set-up so his inclination towards the mundane things of life are acute and authentic. He observes conceives and depicts which are the three phases for any creativity, be it performing, visual or plastic art. His mindset could acutely imbibed the rural conceptual motifs and his depictions are always smelling earthy.

His Sadhu(sages) series is the outcome of his intimately intermingling with Indian and Odishan sages. It is not the iconography depicted it is the inner psyche culminated in to well crafted canvases.

His mother series transforms the motherly rearing in to a stupendous convention and his woman takes the form of Janani ( the mother), Bhagini (the sister) and Jaya (the wife).

Baladev is having deep acquaintances with Vedic literature, philosophy and medieval poetry. He took the finer elements from all these texts and transforms the calligraphy in to visual art. His renderings are so exact and soothing that the poetic lines are enlivened with paint and brush. The onlooker assimilates the jugglery of the poetry through the vibrantly colored canvases . He has transformed the poetic lines of Kavi Samrat Upendra Bhanja, the colossal medieval Oriya poet and his Kavya "Koti Brahmanda Sundari" could give vent to exclusively painted canvasses. With a deep sense of Kali Das’s poetry he could thought of the projection. So with magnanimously painted canvasses on Ritu Samhar and Meghadoota Kavya he had his solo exhibition in Orissa Modern Art Gallery where he had his mind and soul put together to provide vigor and strength to his superb creations from where one can feel the poetic fragrament. He is so meticulous that he portrayed the black mole on the check of the Nayika to the long drooping drapery so eloquently that the intricate poetry gets transformed to visual art from. Here the poetic nuances are bewitchingly depicted without any inhibitions. This transformation of these lyrical interpretations on to canvass was first of its kind for the viewers. Hence the literary personalities, intellectuals and critics had rave reviews for these creations as the interpretation is as powerful as the original Sanskrit verses created by great poet Kali Das

Baladev then looked in to portraying Ganapati on to the canvasses. He has manifested Ganesh with many a from in to his canvass on board. Here he has experimented with variety of textures, figures and forms taking the mythical antecedents in to account. Ganesh icons has not been transformed in to total abstraction rather the forms are akin to realistic but never realistic. The sources of inspiration for the painter are meticulously taken from the mythical renderings. So also the space at times encloses the artistic creativity quite effectively with the texture of the subject.

In the year 2007, Delhi based Ashok Art Gallery has showcased his works at the National Capital, in India Habitat Centre New Delhi entitled Dejected Dusk. The theme was Deva Dasi tradition taken as a symbol of femininity temple dancing tradition and a male chauvinistic attitude towards the Devadasis. In a review of the said exhibition, Thea Walstra from the Netherlands commented like this. Over all I am very much impressed by the art of this very talented artist. Hi is able to introduce the world with the symbols of the ancient, incredible India in a very interesting way. At the same time his work shows the globalization of the world and that times are changing, the world I understand and know. I think he has built a bridge in his art connecting, the present India with the modern world. At the same time he is introducing the rich tradition of the ancient India with all the symbols and visual glory.

In the human psyche the male chauvinistic attitude is a perennial concept. In the epical descriptions, the female has always been portrayed as a commodity of enjoyment and the beastly lust always engulfs the feminine sector. Never she has been regarded as the part and parcel of the supreme creation literally but regarded proverbially. But she is always forgotten as the sculptor of life embodiment. In the historical depictions, though there are feministic heroism still the exploitation is optimum. With this current bazaar culture femininity has been commoditized. So Baladev kept the above in mind and he could present the exhibition as a soothing heal for feminism and the real attitude is depicted with paint and canvasses. The exhibition got rave reviews.

Baladev is the only painter who had collaborated with the other avenues of art with his painting and the simultaneous process is known as Yugal Vandi. He had his brush swiftly draw the strokes on canvas while Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia had his music recital with flute. Baladev also painted to the recitation of the popular odia poem Kadanba-Katual by Prof. Dr.Ajay Swain. Then he also painted to the recitations of the poems of Vidyapati a Medieval poet of Mithila in Bihar. It made the spectators spell bound by seeing the use of the brush with quite speedy acceleration. As spiritualism is his soul, he also had another Jugalbandi with Odishi dance recital by eminent dancers and vocal music of "Gita Govinda". on the stage, the visual art form slowly but caringly transformed the performing Art on to a huge canvas in a very limited span of time in the esteemed presence of Gajapati Divyasingh Dev and Sri T.K.Mishra, The chief Secretary, Govt. of Orissa and the huge gathering could applaud this joint venture of creativity.

Baladev Maharatha teaches in B.K. College of Art and Crafts in the capacity of a Professor. He is the head of department Painting in Indian Style. Many a students of his are now established artists. He takes his pupils as friends or brothers and under his tutelage the pupils get a chance to learn the intricacies from their Master Teacher. Many a students of his are not beyond his super influence.

Baladev, not only a lover of poetry, but he is a poet himself. His flowing lines of poetry could allure his readers like his paintings.Baladev is a person with a love for nature and he has planted number of trees and also participated in many a plantation programmes

He believes in. hard work as there is no substitute for hard work, "One needs to have dedication, inspiration and love for the work, make it a way of life and most importantly – seek divine blessings to be an artist. I am inspired by God and my studio is my home" he says.He has received Odisha Lalit Kala Academy award and also many golden feathers have been added to his silvery Cap.

The philosophers say that to paint is nothing but a yogic practice. The superb elevation of Baladev is due to his embracing the spiritual milieu intimately. His creations are therefore having the concealed spiritual norms and for which his paintings are noting beyond soul searching. A spiritual mind can only achieve this type of supreme creativity, he believes.

Baladev is a super human being who cares for all the living things and nonliving in this universe and passionately he loves the human being most. So his creation is always collectively humanitarian. His works are available at Ashok Art Gallery and next solo show will be organized at Delhi on December 2010.

Suresh Balabantray

The Ashok Art Gallery is internationally known for one of its most important holdings: more than 2000 major works by the world's most significant Artists.Over the past years, as Ashok Art Gallery has become a major centre for contemporary visual art, the Gallery has built a strong collection of contemporary work of different artists, became a sponsor of the STANDUP-SPEAKOUT Artshow, Organized by Art Of Living Foundation and United Nations.Organized an International Contenmporary Art Exhibition including artists from USA, The Nederlands, Pakistan and India.We have also participated at Art Expo India Mumbai and India Art Summit Delhi