Chronicling the subtle colours of the soul

Karnataka based artist Devendra Badiger is all geared up to display his recent work in Jehangir Art Gallery, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai June 5 to 11.

Nala with Beloved

The exhibition, entitled, Subtle Elements is a study in human qualities and forms, capturing, with the paint brush, moments which are otherwise lost in transition.

The paintings are almost a testimony to the colourful vagaries of the soul, which, if not chronicles can be a mere fleeting moment that is gone even before the self realises its existence.

Dayamanti Nala

There seem to be a certain wistful quality to Badiger’s works. His etchings, at once bold and stark are replete with softer strokes that add layers to his works and an ephemeral quality.

No work of art is perhaps complete without a sense of dialogue, and here Badgier echoes his excellence.

Krishna

Be it the brilliantly sapphire and emerald hued Nala with Beloved, resonanting sentiments of love and amour, to the crimson hued Dayamanti and Messengers, with her voluptuously etched figure wrapped in myriad shades, the etchings are poetic in their quality.

What makes Badgier’s works so interesting is the way he juxtaposes the tangential with the fleeting. Meera can be seen enraptured in what can only be the essence of Krishna or his painting Krishna itself permeates across the canvas as a lonely Radha becomes a part of the larger being.

Radha’s turquoise stands in beautiful contrast to Krishna’s sapphire as both figures merge into one and a cacophony of shades is splattered across the canvas.

Badgier’s paintings have a distinctive modern approach, all the while staying rooted to his cultural identity.

Shapes merge and dissipate to create wondrous canvases that have a unique approach, sensibility and technique.

• Exhibition: Subtle Elements by Devendra M. Badiger
• Duration: June 5 to 11
• Venue: Jehangir Art Gallery. 161-B, M.G. Road, Kala Ghoda, Mumbai 400001
• Timing: 11am to 7pm