Exhibition showcases works from Rashtrapati Bhawan's 'artists-in-residence' programme

Spending a week within the President's Estate perhaps is a great escape from the world we live in, as the participating artists in Rashtrapati Bhawan's recently held 'Artists-in-Residence' programme took the opportunity to revisit their respective versions of an ideal world on their canvasses. While some turned nostalgic reminiscing simpler times, some looked within into the deep recesses of their minds, and others simply imagined the seemingly distant idea of freedom.

These over 40 art works created during the residency by 12 artists, both established and emerging, are currently on view as part of an exhibition at the Rashtrapati Bhawan museum here. "The aim of the 'In-Residence' programme is to provide artists an opportunity to stay and be part of the life in Rashtrapati Bhavan. It seeks to provide an environment which will inspire creative thinking and rejuvenate artistic impulses.

"It is also intended to honour and recognise eminent and established artists as well as encourage young upcoming talent from different parts of the country," a museum official said. Renowned artists participating in the residency, held between November 10-17, include Anjolie Ela Menon, Lalu Prasad Shaw, Suhas Bahulkar and Anwar Khan.

Nostalgia shaded with vernacular imagery dominates Bahulkar's paintings. He paints the "crumbling" Wada haveli of Vadodara as a symbol of a lost way of life. "Its inhabitants may have adapted to alien modernity, yet they long for the intrinsic," the official said.

For Khan, even an imperceptible movement has an echo. His abstract paintings at the show, the official explained, are a summation of his sub-conscious dialogue with these apparent trivialities that add up to a telling discourse.

Artist Paramjit Singh used the residency to transport himself to the forever evolving "natural world", as he painted deep green forests that tend to suck the viewer into the "spinning vortex of creation". Among notable works by younger artists is Vimmi Indra's painting of a woman gazing out of the window. Her confined life seems to be in stark contrast with that of a free bird perched on a wall across her.

Other participating artists include Ganesh Haloi, Sanat Kar, Chandra Bhattacharjee, Chinmay Roy, Siddharth Shingade, and Pranita Pravin. The exhibition also has on display artworks by school students mentored by the artists during the residency.

The show is set to continue till December 9.

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