Gadadhar Ojha and Sitikant(Tutu) Pattnaik, two wonderful sculptor of Odisha

Gadadhar Ojha and Tutu Pattnaik 

Tapan Dash stresses that he starts from a point and begins painting without any pre thought.

Faces dominate his oeuvre and arresting expressions make them singularly attractive. Odia painter Tapan Dash merges abstract art with his fascination for faces. Abstract paintings full of geometric shapes conceal faces complete with myriad expressions. These paintings are predominantly a mix of oranges, blues, reds and greens. His medium of choice is oil and acrylic.

Using symbolism that’s part of Indian art and mythology, Dash blends it with his artistic sensibilities to create pleasant, shocking and at times, jarring works of art. Disconcerting to the extreme, Dash is also a master of the line. Given a proper brush and paint, he says, perhaps he can draw a line to the end of the world and back without a break. Using this robust line, and a childish glee for bright primary colours, Dash paints with a simplicity that mocks the perspective with exaggeration. Rhythm, repetition and symmetry play an important role in this artist’s works.

Based in New Delhi now, Dash says most of his faces represent the priests from Puri, his birth place. “My frequent visits to my home town and spiritual trips to the Jagannath temple help me absorb the daily life of these priests, popularly known as Puri Pandas. So when I start painting, faces come naturally to me and the co-related symbols follow automatically,” he says.

The artist stresses that he starts from a point and begins painting without any pre thought. “Every time I do a work, it finishes with the Pandas of Puri, a scene from his routine life, his place in modern and contemporary world,” says Dash. His painted ‘faces’ span an identity broaching the mortal and the divine; their heavy-lidded eyes gaze outward, but never directly at the viewer.

A Fine Arts graduate of B K College of Art & Crafts, Bhubaneswar, many of his portraits have multiple visages, bringing to mind African masks and sculpture, Cubism and German Expressionism.

A series of 101 drawings by Dash, all done in pastel called ‘101 Faces’ presents people’s faces in various moods, grabs and characters. “In daily life, it’s the face that meets the world and interacts, and becomes the threshold of communication, interaction with various affairs of human life. The face carries one’s internal sensibilities, personality, and mental or spiritual constitution,” says the artist.

Dash here tries to portray 101 emotions, types and varieties of faces around us. Often the artist presents multiple dimensions and aspects of the same face. The series is an interplay of multiple characters residing in a same personality.

Some of his paintings also show faces in a crowd with abstract silhouettes of figures engaged in several (presumably commercial) activities and a general atmosphere of chaos.

In some of Dash’s other paintings, chillies take on different forms, different colours, moving on from a humour motif to something more meaningful and more thought provoking. The humour, Dash indulges in can be seen in the perspective where he uses the parallax effect to show the split personalities. The human anatomy is twisted out of shape to create mock symbolism, the bright colours, and the motif of a red twisted chilli add to a sense of wry humour. Just to show one aspect of it, Dash draws a mendicant deep in meditation, but with a twist: he has a red chilli on one of his open palm. In another, he paints a smiling face again, but with red chillies stuffed in the eyes. The face is in the backdrop of a sea, which is blue in its heart, but burning red on the surface with red chillies floating atop.

He has created 40 such paintings and more than 200 colour drawings in the last three years. Besides chillies, motifs like eyes, smoking pipes, coconuts, sometimes cars appear frequently in his works.

Apart from the Puri Pandas, he draws inspiration from Jesus Christ and of late, Buddha. He is currently working on a series highlighting the preaching of

Buddha. Interestingly, Dash is not using any of the conventional Buddha images in the series. “Recently, I have also started doing portraits in pencil on paper. The basic idea is the same, but the medium different,” he says.

United Art Fair Artists' Meet on 4th June 2012 (Monday) from 630 pm onwards followed by cocktail and dinner at The Hotel New Marrion, 6, Janpath, Bhubaneswar

Dear FRIEND 

We cordially invite you for the United Art Fair Artists' Meet on 4^th  June 2012 (Monday) from 630 pm onwards followed by cocktail and dinner at The Hotel New Marrion, 6, Janpath, Bhubaneswar.

Best Regards,
Vikash Kumar
Associate Director
United Art Fair™

United Art Fair™ 2012
C/o United Artlogistics Pvt. Ltd.
Block-III-1/2, Ground Floor, B-Side
Shyam Singh Street, Gopinath Bazaar
Delhi Cantt., New Delhi - 110010, India
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Ceramic and Pottery exhibition by Prithviraj Singh Deo at ICCR Gallery, New Delhi from 1st june 2012

'HORIZON SERIES'   Ceramic and Pottery exhibition by Prithviraj Singh Deo at ICCR'S Azad Bhawan Art Gallery, New Delhi from 1st june 2012 till 6th.

The sculpture on display at Dhauli hills near Bhubaneswar, Odisha

The tale of King Asoka resonates in stones of the Dhauli hillock. The story has been retold through rock sculptures by artistes from all over the state at a 10-day camp that concluded on Saturday. Organised by the Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi and the Odisha tourism development corporation, the state-level sculptors’ camp was aptly titled War and Peace.

The sculptors worked on the hills during the camp with a view of the Dhauli peace pagoda that inspired them to create exquisite pieces of art out of lifeless stones. Each of the 20 sculptors, including the old hands and the novices, etched their reflections of the theme of a comparison between war and peace. Most of the works showcased elements symbolising Buddha for peace, motivated by the Buddhist site.

Well-known sculptor Prashant Kumar Das, principal of the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Khallikote, created a sculpture with symbolic elements to define his insight of peace. His sculpture featured a fence with sharp and pointed railings. On either side of this fence were carvings that represented two neighbouring regions.

“War mostly takes place between the neighbouring kingdoms and the boundary between them signifies the epitome of hatred. The states, themselves, however, are symbols of peace. I have also included some characteristics of Lord Buddha to illustrate peace,” said Das.

Young sculptors such as Anadi Charan Ojha, Smruti Sai Mishra, Lalat Kishore Pradhan and Amiya Ranjan Ghadei also created some interesting depictions of the theme. Ojha showed a Dharma Chakra at the bottom of the sculpture, over which he created a shield and swords in cross to illustrate war. At the top of the sculpture, a number of roof-like structures were created as a representation of the Dhauli pagoda. Ghadei carved locks of hair as a symbolic depiction of Buddha’s messages while the structure was shaped like a piece of hill from the Himalayas. “I used engravings inside the sculpture and gave it the texture of the ice mountain,” he said.

Pradhan showcased his typical subject of machinery and levers and merged it into the war-peace theme to make a sculpture while Mishra created an abstract piece of art using elements from Mexican civilisation. He used circular textures to represent warriors of the civilisation while the squares and grids portrayed their gods. Similarly, Kanta Kishore Moharana’s work had a contemporary take on the theme. He showcased a sack of grains to present greenery and created building-like structures on it to illustrate urbanisation.

“The fight between environment and urbanisation is the latest in the historical episodes of war,” said Moharana.The works made during the camp will be installed around the Dhauli pagoda. The camp started from December 1.

Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi gave away its 34th annual awards

The Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi gave away its 34th annual awards on Wednesday, encouraging talented artists from all over the state. Artists from different fields and generations got together at the event held at Bhanja Kala Mandap.

The awards were conferred upon eight young artists in different categories. The jury consisting of veteran artists such as Baladev Gambhir, Debaraj Sahoo, Bana Bihari Parida and Gouranga Bariki reviewed 122 art works to select the awardees. The awards for 2010-2011 in contemporary painting were presented to Pramode Mallick, Ranjit Sahoo, Abdul Salam Khan and Suryakanta Swain.

The winner for the traditional painting award was Rita Behera. Rashmikanta Patnaik was awarded for graphic art while Manok Kumar Rout and Biswaranjan Kar, for sculptures.“We looked for original concepts and presentation as well as finesse of art in the work while selecting the art works for awards out of the 122 exhibits,” said renowned artist Gouranga Bariki.

The young artists were thrilled on receiving the awards. “I had created a contemporary painting titled The Final Waiting showcasing the wild nature of animals that is also found in humans. I am delighted to have received the award for my work. It will help me do better in future,” said a 24-year-old Ranajit Sahoo.

“I tried to use the traditional painting elements to create something unique. Hence my painting illustrates mythological tales assembled in the body of Meera bai, since she was the epitome of devotion,” said artist Rita Behera.

Another jury had chosen the 122 art works that have been exhibited at the INTACH gallery. “We had received 329 entries that included paintings, graphic arts and sculptures. We selected 122 works that are also exhibited on the occasion,” said Rabi Narayan Rath, secretary of the Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi. Rath was a jury in this initial process.

Culture minister Prafulla Samal, who presented the awards, announced three art galleries that would soon soon come up for artists and art lovers to promote art. “Moreover, art students will soon be given all the facilities such as scholarships, study tours and so on, just like students of others streams,” said Samal. Eminent painter and president of Odisha Lalit Kala Akademi the Durga Prasad Das was present on the occasion.

26th Annual Art Exhibitin of B.K. Art College opening at Jayadev Bhawan on 7th sept. 2011

26th Annual Art Exhibitin of B.K. Art College opening at Jayadev Bhawan on 7th sept. 2011.
will be innaugurated by Mr. Prafulla Samal, the ministre of Turrism and culture
timing 11 A.M.