INNOCENT DIVINE, a solo show by artist Ajay Mohanty

 Started at Ashok Art Gallery, It will be on vew till 6th of february

little about: The art tradition in India is so very strong that artists adapt the visual elements with subtle changes to suit contemporary makeover. In the case of Ajay Mohanty, one could easily consider these remains. They have emerged with subtle aesthetic layers with focus on the compositional patter. Stylistically different though but the gestures and colour have strong reference points. The only deviation perhaps is that of the space treatment and that make it visual strong and appealing.His works hover on the verge of resolve, oscillating between fragile spaces and painterly surfaces arrived at by a variety of means. While his interest in painting's history is visible, each painting is treated as an open ended exploration. The work functions with its own internal logic yet is firmly rooted in the world of experience, displaying a gentle but insistent emotional undertow.

Each of the works on display require time and scrutiny to reveal their quiet intelligence and strong determination to capture the poetic capabilities of the artists' chosen medium. In this technology driven era, it is easy to forget the role of the handmade object and the importance it plays in a contemporary context. Not overly pretentious or garishly imposing, Ajay the artist in this exhibition force the viewer to look beneath what is literally seen to reveal questions about their mediums' historical burden.

Ajay Mohanty received his BFA from Utkal University at B.K. College of Art and Crafts, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, 1996, He was awarded by Lalitkala Academy as best child artists at his age 11, after his fine art education he shifted to Delhi and working on creative field, over the past five years, participated in numerous group shows.His works has been showcased in both the Indian Art Fair, India Art Summit, New Delhi and Art Expo India, Mumbai by Ashok Art Gallery.


 INNOCENT DIVINE

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.

‘The habitation in nature’ SOLO SHOW of Pradosh Swain’s recent works at Ashok Art Gallery

Any work of art for that matter has certain ideas to deliver, but this seems to have engaged the viewer with more than one implication. Initially aimed at presenting the environmental issue, that is one of the phenomena, quite clearly depicted by many artists of the present day. It is uniformly received by the politicians, sociologists, scientists and artists as well. ‘The habitation in nature’ an exhibition showing Pradosh Swain’s recent works at Ashok Art Gallery.

VISIT SHOW ONLINE

Concrete Demon illustrates a typical and unusual scene, amazing and interesting too. The manuscript unfolds to release Lord Rama with his attributes, bow and arrow, to kill the concrete mixture that is commonly seen at the construction sites. It has several layers of implication: dwelling between tradition and modern, oppression and liberty, nature and environmental hazard, mobility and stillness and so on. It presents a feeling of awareness and concern.

Rama, the maryada purusha, as he is commonly known and we believe had a genuine understanding of nature as he lived his significant part of life within nature, interacting with various aspects and adopting several laws of natural world. He is seen liberating the self to take on the direct fight once again with the demonic form (concrete mixture = Ravana) to bring back peace to the mankind unaware of the fact that in this corrupt world, what wins is not the environment but the brokers of nature, while the sufferer is entire world.

In the present day, Rama has become the source of inspiration to many; politically, environmentally, culturally, as people have conveniently adopted him. Now he has been reduced to a manuscript as an abode, cultivating the nature within the parameters of palm leaf. A simple narration that recreates the Rama in Odissi Pata painting form and symbolically covering him with the foliage, to relate nature in him; palm leaf as a major and popular medium in Orissan traditional art is placed intelligently to show the manuscript and a horrifying background depicting the uncertainty of human life. The composition is poised with intellectual input and social awareness.

The world is changing and also the attitude of man. Travel is part of human being’s life. With every passing day more and more information regarding the destinations are reaching us motivating us to explore the new area of substance. Reasons of such moves are many, ranging form family holidays to corporate leisure. Many natural sites are revisited and new sites introduced to us. We move from place to place encroaching the nature’s domain and without even being careful. Often we ignorantly spoil the nature and sometimes become more adventurous in misusing the resources. This has resulted in the natural devastation and we can feel the heat of global warming all through the globe. We have started paying the price for someone else’s fault. Towards Wind seems to present before us the nature that is supposed to nurture us, our lives and motivate our minds, inspire us to face new challenges, has now started throwing new challenges to us pointing its protection and expecting a little compassion and love for itself. We have reached a pitiable condition, where no road leads ahead.

A time would arrive when we would need a fan painted with nature (allegorical) in a hill top (station) to satisfy us from heat. The extent, as the artist has pointed, might go up to reaching near to the fan blades to occupy the most of air the fan delivers. The message is clear and loud, save it (nature) to be a part of it or stay alone to die hard.

The cities are now developing fast and at a disagreeable pace. The requirement of man is getting wider day by day. To achieve these desires one makes compromises with the nature, its habitants and the balance. We have significantly converted the animal’s bay purposefully to suit our ideals. So every other day we hear news about tiger creeping in to village and start shouting about the facing new danger. Rationally we have threatened their habitation in nature. The spread of the cities never care about the essential ‘other’. Fisher in Metro is just about that. In the image showing the kingfisher (namesake) sitting on a basket ball net (replacing the tree branches) and concentrating on a swimming pool (replacing the village pond), which is temporarily set on a spatula (showing its position), while a young woman is diving into the pool. This visual narrates the reality; of how the cities are facing structural conversion everyday, the danger of scarcity facing us today and its horrifying future and similar struggle.

Pradosh Swain has attempted global issues in simplest and readable visual term. What interests me is his concern about nature and its protection in order to avoid the Global Warming. ‘The message is not new’, as he explains, ‘and it is not educating too. I just paint to define my understanding of the subject’. He adds, ‘much has been spoken and delivered visually by the NGOs and similar volunteer organisations to mass through electronic and print media. But artist has his own creative view point that sometimes visualises the imagined future’. Let us not make big promises that are difficult to keep but small acts that are easy to follow in order to upkeep our environment. Is someone practising! Pradosh Swain works and live in Delhi, India.

Dr. P. K. Mishra (Art Historian)
Presently Serving as Associate Professor, BHU


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.
Last year 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 Mumbai and India Art Summit 2008 New Delhi.

Art News and Exhibition Reviews : Ashok Art Gallery, The Tree Family, an Orissan traditional forms and conventional drawing by Gajendra Prasad Sahu.

Gajaendra Prasad Sahu's Solo show has innaugurated by Dr. Subash Ch Pani at IHC Senior Artists like Kashinath Jena shared his valuable thoughts with all young artists present at opening, This exhibition will continue at Ashok Art Gallery
An Exhibition of recent drawing and painting was organised at Open Palm Court Gallery by Ashok Art Gallery from 14th -16th feb 2009, gathered by many artists and art lovers, Gajendra Prasad's work gets heavily appriceations from both side.

Orissa has been a store house of ideas and images consistently transformed through the history. Artists of Orissa, while keeping the value of its tradition, have tried to keep pace with the need of time. Thus it is obvious to find a blend in the art forms of today. Several contemporary artists from Orissa are practising in coordination with the creativity and tradition, Gajendra Sahu is one of them.

Gajendra Sahu is essentially a graphic artist who is at present engaged in painting, thereby breaking the norms of the painter-printer convention. I still remember few drawings by him in the same pattern, and that reminds me of his association with these forms which are designated and stylistic. It is necessary to highlight the stylistic advantages that are visible in his painting for example the graded yet bold lines, the formal precision and the colour application which has a greater relevance to printing effect.

The compositions are interesting not because of their presence but for their appearance, with a contrast compartmental background seemingly synchronising the visual feast. The second factor it emphasises is the man-nature relationship. The relationship might just be as natural as normally seen in an Orissan environment. The nature is more decorative and conceivably symbolic. The situation has ceased to accommodate the viewer for interaction or is it initiating a rendezvous! The figures seem to reflect an amalgamation of the Orissan traditional forms and conventional drawing.

The subject treatment is much nearer to the mood of the artist. The human faces are nurtured in different condition; pale, melancholic sometimes or may be lost in the urban chaos, or searching a niche for their survival. Being within the nature, they are in a state of discomfort. This brings us to one larger understanding of within and without, containment and exploring, fullness and empty etc. These are subjective view points, entailing the third person to engage in evaluation. This is the state of Orissan art in Orissa, having enormous heritage and cultural potency to encourage any creative discipline, but looking forward to a strange acceptance, forgetting that purity has no language, but expression.


Dr. Pradosh Kumar Mishra
Associate Professor
Department of History of Art
Banaras Hindu University

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. Last year 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 Mumbai and India Art Summit 2008 New Delhi.