If you live in India, then, you’re fully aware that most places in this country have only two major seasons — summer and monsoon. Unfortunately, autumn is one season we can rarely enjoy. But that doesn’t stop us from adapting to the traditions of the West. We love pumpkin spice latte, fall fashion, and who can forget Halloween? But what we may miss out on is the very essence of autumn. In order to capture this season through art, artists from across the country are in namma city to showcase their autumn-inspired artwork.
Praveen Kumar
For artist Praveen Kumar, shifting to Bengaluru from Kanara changed the way he paints. He says, “As a kid, I spent a lot of time watching commercial artists paint in Kanara. Fast forward a few years, when my love for art lead me to do an architecture degree.” Before venturing into art full time, Praveen worked as an architectural artist for a reputed firm. He recollects, “The city’s skyline, society, the people all inspired my paintings. The piece that I will be showcasing at this exhibition was done a long time ago.” Praveen explains that this piece is part of a collection called City Sketch. He says, “This series has a number of paintings that showcase the buildings in Bengaluru. But this particular piece and its colour scheme matched the autumn theme perfectly.” Praveen, who does mainly abstract works, shares that his next project will capture the dying architects of vintage Kanara houses on canvas.
JMS Mani
Apart from showcasing his artwork, Mani also taught an art workshop for amateurs at the exhibition. “Owing to the theme — Autumn — I did some pieces inspired by dreams. While one will have a graphic print, the other will be purely acrylic paint,” Mani shares, adding that sometimes, it takes him just two minutes to paint and at others, even two whole months. Mani, who did his education from the Ken School of Art, Bengaluru, says, “It’s only when you visit the workshop of an artist, you will get to know how he paints, his thought process and his inspirations.”
Raghava KK
It is his first show after many years in Bengaluru. Talking about the sole art piece that he is showcasing, he says, “This painting is part of my collection — the Dutch Still Life Series. The Dutch take plants from different seasons and once a year, they make an incredible bouquet. Being Indian is something like that, with different regions, ideologies etc,” he says. Raghava’s piece is an upside-down paining that uses acrylics, cartoons and memes to re-tell Indian history. He says, “As a story-teller, I want to live the best story which is my life and art. We are scribes of our own time and history. I am inspired by what we understand as our own history.” Raghava has a very interesting project up his sleeve. “I am joining with my brother to curate the world’s first Artificial Intelligence Art Show soon,” he confides.
Shivani Dugar
Shivani’s tryst with art started when her mother enrolled her for art classes at the age of five. She says, “Through school, I participated in numerous art events, designed stage backdrops and catalogues. I was involved in any creative project I could get my hands on!” The art piece that she has chosen to showcase at this exhibition is called A Summer Escape. “This piece is inspired by my long walk through the end of summer and into fall. In this painting, the brilliant reds and oranges of the season begin to envelop us,” shares Shivani, who has a Master of Fine Arts. Shivani is currently designing and building a dream studio and working on a new collection of paintings for her Baltimore and Washington DC galleries.
