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There is a grey line between perception and reality. In the process of trying to outperform for a surreal future, we fail to seize the moment and live in the present. “Landscapes: The Crucial & The Curious” is an exploratory journey encouraging the viewers to perceive ‘art as a means of gaining perspective’.
(From Left to Right)
Ego v/s Matchbox, 2019 (Image © Vipul Prajapati)
Follow you Dreams, 2019 (Image © Debasish Dutta)
“Our perspectives shape our visions and motivations, through which we see the physical landscapes around us and create parallel ideological landscapes in our minds. Understanding this and digging within the layers of our mindsets is the by-product and in fact duty of art. It is an exploration that is both curious and crucial.
Breaking away from traditional depictions in order to change the landscape of context is something both Vipul Prajapati and Debasish Dutta specialize in, both literally and metaphorically.”
Debasish Dutta:
“Dutta, on a somber note, has attempted to create awareness of the rapidly increasing imbalance in our physical natural environment, through the abstract and miniature depiction of man in its context. For him, this is a crucial symbolism of man’s powerlessness when confronted by a larger more overwhelming perspective.”
Dutta is a man of few words, perhaps the teeming populace in his canvas is more vocal than the artist himself. The artist has consciously scaled down the physical size of man, metaphorically trying to convey the crucial role of the oblivious curious man in this vast landscape. Fascinated by miniaturization, inculcated in his signature style, his sensitive works cover diverse topics from being passionate and courageous towards pursuing one’s dreams to creating awareness of the rise in white corruption.
A series of paintings on canvas titled as “Journey towards Nature” encourages the viewers to appreciate the indispensable role of nature . His almost live paintings easily transport one’s mindset to a breath-taking view of an infinite stretch of land covered with purple blossoms or green foliage.
(From Left to Right)
Journey Towards Nature 8, 2019 (Acrylic on Canvas)
Journey Towards Nature 2, 2019 (Acrylic on Canvas)
Vipul Prajapati:
Having spent umpteen number of years in and around the Alang shipping yard in Gujarat, the artist emerged out with a plethora of experiences and tales. The artist, with his fresh perspectives, incorporated these tales in his works as he dives into the contemporary art world. His monochrome works with grey wash on the surface sensitize and emphasize on the hardwork and struggle that embodies with the lives of the labour class.
(From Left to Right)
Untitled, 2019 (Mixed Media on paper)
The birds of hope are everywhere. listen to them sing, 2019 (Matchbox Series)
Untitiled, 2019 (Graphite & Pencil on paper)
(Image © Vipul Prajapati)
“Prajapati on the other hand has played around with multiple mediums to change the context of ordinary daily objects by reinventing their usage and making them into a subject of his abstraction. He goes on to paint an actual visual landscape on to them to represent his curious artistic probe and add story-tale like value to otherwise meaningless stuff.”
Prajapati’s unique and enthralling matchbox series, convey thoughts and ideologies that run in our ordinary but unsettling realities of life. Adorning the surface of the matchbox (made of corrugated paper), the artist mimics creative images, such as a train boggie, a sleeping man, a trunk of valuable items and many more.
Matchbox series
(Image © Vipul Prajapati)
Through these practices, both artists individually explore art as an opportunity to create a space where perspective, no matter how seemingly insignificant, or misunderstood, can become a part of a larger discourse on meaning-making and play a significant role in driving awareness on deeper levels. Ultimately, the shape of the landscape is in a state of flux; the intention is to ensure that we retain the curiosity to explore this change, and the courage to challenge it when it is most crucial.
Image © Tao Art Gallery
11th November until 24th November , 2019