Art in the time of lockdown: Exhibition features 13 new paintings by A Ramachandran

An ongoing exhibition of new paintings by renowned painter A Ramachandran here shows how the prolonged Covid-19 lockdown led to experimentation in the style and content of the Padma Bhushan awardee artist.

Organised by Vadehra Art Gallery (VAG) at two venues, Triveni Kala Sangam in Mandi House and Modern Gallery in Defence Colony, the solo shows mirror the octogenarian's latest spell of creativity underlined by visual grandeur and subtle expressions.

Titled ''Subaltern Nayikas & Lotus Pond'', the paintings, according to Ramchandran, ''helped him counter the melancholy around the worldwide pandemic for almost two years''.

Of the total 13 paintings, eight are on the 'Ashta Nayikas'. However, this series by Ramachandran tends to break the exalted status the heroines (nayikas) enjoy in the ancient Natya Shastra written by Bharata Muni.

''It's not just beautiful people who fall in love. Hence the word 'subaltern','' notes the 86-year-old Ramachandran, about the paintings that show faces of Bhil tribal women of northwest India.

As for the 'Lotus Ponds', the sprawling water-bodies of Rajasthan have for long been another obsession of Kerala-born Ramachandra, the gallery said in a statement.

''Both exhibitions will serve as a sample of the master painter's extraordinary style," VAG director Arun Vadehra said.

The exhibition, on display till November 30 at Triveni Kala Sangam, will come to a close on December 12 at the Modern Gallery.

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