This week, the city's galleries host artists, who play with bold colours and a range of styles, to turn out grand paintings, both abstract and figurative
This week, the city's galleries host artists, who play with bold colours and a range of styles, to turn out grand paintings, both abstract and figurative
Artist S Jayaraj, from Chennai, is currently exhibiting his paintings at the Renaissance Gallerie on Cunningham Road. The exhibition, titled Faces of Rural Folks, is a series where he captures the moods and expressions of people who have no voice or choice. Women in rural India, dominated by fathers/ husbands/ sons, find their way into his paintings.u00a0
The artist tries to go deep into the spirit of these people and their moods. His paintings are marked by simple lines. His understated manner of using the brush adds a special appeal to his work.
Jayaraj specialised in human anatomy during his fine arts course. Though he has pursued other themes, he has a special fondness for figurative paintings, particularly of women. He has won several awards for his paintings, including the firstu00a0 prize for an on-the-spot painting contest in Chennai on the theme, A Day at the Airport, which was judged by the legendary M F Husain. The exhibition at Rennaisance Gallerie on Cunningham road is on till May 4. 
Shraddha Rathi, whose first solo exhibition begins today at the Chitrakala Parishat says, "I use shadow play in my paintings. The theme for this exhibition revolves around old heritage structures and monuments." Her fascination for architecture and monuments can perhaps be traced to the fact that she spent her formative years in Aurangabad, home to the magnificent Ajanta and Ellora caves. She has also trained in Bharatnatyam and Odissi dance forms, and has performed in Paris and Singapore.
"What began as an interest in water colours, clay modelling and charcoal painting soon evolved into a deep interest in Madhubani paintings from Bihar and Tanjore paintings from Tamil Nadu. The medium of oil on canvas became a part of my oeuvre eight years ago," she explains.
Shraddha is a practicing architect and also designs furniture as a hobby. Her furniture store, The Woods in Hyderabad, stocks furniture in teak wood. Her solo exhibition at CKP is on till May 3.
Phantasmagoria, the art exhibition at Level C, Leela Galleria, features 8 contemporary artists. Anand Bewadkar, Bharati Sagar, Doddamani, Muni Mohan, Neena Singh, Romicon Revola, Sudhir Meher and Shan Re, showcase their paintings in mediums like canvas, silk, paper, and stainless steel.
Bharati Sagar says, "I use mixed medium on paper. My art is a mix of abstracts and figures. I like the interplay of human emotions and my art is all about people. I went to Hampi recently, so a few of my recent works are inspired from my time there. One of the paintings is a temple scene with ruins in the background."
She says painting was a childhood passion. After graduating in fine arts from Hyderabad, she decided to become a full-time artist, "Sometimes, I get up in the middle of the night and paint. I love to do portraits," she adds.
Her work is part of the group show that will be on till May 6, at the Leela Galleria, Leela Palace.
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