A Parisian collection of prints at Alliance

Association Francaise d’Action Artistique and the cultural services of the French Embassy in New Delhi had invited five Indian artists to participate and create original prints in Parisian workshops in ‘98.

These artists— Kavita Nayar, Murali Das P.V., Kavita Shah, Anandamoy Banerji, and Dattatraya Apte —participated in various workshops.

An exhibition of these original prints has been organised by the Alliance Francaise in the city from 26th June. This exhibition will be on view till July 7. One can see the stages of printmaking and the growth of thought in Kavita Nayar which shows unusually created forms of human figures. There is an animated quality in her work where shadows move freely in the space she chooses to play on. The overlapping of colour brings out the bright tones as the separated parts in her print are strung together with an upside-down image of a human being. The brilliance of red is felt in between the strokes of brushwork.

Murali Das PV of Kerala prefers to show different aspects of the ‘self against ‘time’. This he shows with various shapes significant to the events. They are mostly taken from folk art. Das selects shapes in black and white.

Kavita Shah’s work is built on the complexities of human relations. For this she selects the ‘Mahabharata’. She prints her thoughts in three colours symbolising good, bad and beautiful things, which are represented in decorative cloud forms in one coiner. Shah lives and works in Vadodara.

Anandamoy Banerji’s works address the ‘socio-political’ negation of life. He prints the images of 'Dashavtar', which surround the central figure of ‘Ravana’. The process of prints in stages shows the clarity of prints as well images. Anand chooses a single tone in his prints as it allows him to leave the fine grain effect in the result. There is a surety of thoughts in the artists' works, which is conveyed by the fine handling of lines.

Whereas Dattatraya Apte shows a precise use of lines and shapes with fluidity making his prints colourful, even the stages here show how the addition of thoughts charges the composition.

Compiled from Local News Media