Illusions of past

In an ongoing exhibition in the capital young artists in thier vibrant paintings turn the fragments of past into the art of today. Their Brilliant strokes illuminate life and its secret desires.

Yesterday once more, is an exhibition of paintings which makes people laugh and cry at their narrations, links strands of history and politics, use and discard, research design and form and above all create exquisite pieces of art. Art is translation and inspiration from the past. The paintings of artists today are about the way these young painters use the past or fragment from the past and turn them into the art of today.


Hidden desires: Rebeccau00a0Gupta

Must have been
Where in today's world most of the painters believe that digital cameras and instantaneous photographic technology has taken over the traditional culture of painting, Farhan Mujib has brought innovation into the style of painting. He captures the spirit of history from architecture and the palette of the miniature painter creating collages from photographs he takes. He says, "I started painting these 15 years ago. One day when I returned home from a long trip I found out that my paints had dried. This frustrated me and I came up with the idea of cutting pictures from different old magazines, papers, books. Now I get these pictures scanned, and put them into a painting. My paintings do not require paint."

Painting your fantasy
Rebecca Gupta steals the vibrancy and colours of the treasuries of the past. She revisits the roots of kitch in her urban caricaturisation icons. A graphic design student from New York she works on basic colours and defined structured composition. "My paintings are an inspiration from my life. I love fantasy stories and my paintings have a prominent element, fantasy. The paintings are an escape from reality, an expression or an act of a feeling when no one is around. They depict exuberance," she says.

Metaphorical symbolisation
S Natraj, artist and teacher, the young energetic talented man is modest about his achievement in the art world where wit and humor are prized. Playing with the urban fantasy in the most lyrical watercolours, he captures the common man in his reverie.u00a0 "A satire to middle class familiesu00a0 my paintings depict the behaviour, psychology and relations that common man shares between them. This painting shows man's search for peace and time to relax," he says. Yesterday once more is about inspirations and current combinations. It is about the contemporary. It is India today, yes, also incredible India today.

Yesterday To Come
When- on Till July
at- Hotel Aman,
Lodhi Road,
New Delhi
timings- 11am to 7pm
ring- 43633333