BHARATI PAWASKAR
A bunch of artists addressing themselves as Pathiks (travellers) on the path of exploration, expression and realisation, have exhibited for the first time some of their artworks, inspired by and dedicated to, Buddha. Inaugurated a day after Buddha Poornima (April 30), the art exhibition - Buddha, In Search of the Enlightened one by Nitin Upadhyay, Vaishali Lall, Preeti Verma, Dipti Sardessai, Siddhi Talwadker, Shradha Pal Patil, Darpan, Simpi and Suyash Tanawade is on at the Art Gallery, Kala Academy.
“Except Simpi and Suyash, the rest of the exhibiting artists are my students,” states Vaishali Lall, the curator of the show. An artist herself and an art teacher for the past 25 years, Vaishali boasts of having trained around 10,000 students of all ages.
With walls adorned by numerous paintings of Buddha, Bodhi Vruksha (the peepal tree under which Buddha got enlightened), mandala circles and lotus flowers - some with pencil and pen on paper and others in acrylic and oil on canvas, the art gallery invites curious footfalls.
Excited to have her first show, Preeti Verma, a homemaker with artistic inclination, admits seeking inner peace in painting and crafts. “I paint on murals, canvas, glass and work with mix media,” says Preeti who also indulges into silk thread jewellery, paper quilling and wall hangings.
For Dipti Sardessai, a graduate from Goa College of Art, painting is a way of life. Dipti has participated in several art exhibitions and workshops and conducts art and craft classes for children and adults. Dipti’s work on Buddha is found to be soul soothing.
Unlike fine-art graduate Dipti, Dr Nitin Upadhyay is a self-taught artist who believes that life is impeccable and embellished by connectedness and exploration. Nitin has a deep passion and endless curiosity for ‘abstract and surreal art’, more specifically in understanding the ‘expressions of life’. His art works seem to reflect the spectrum of life. Using acrylics, oils, mix media and digital medium to express, he has previously exhibited his paintings to the wider audience and private art-shows (Madrid - Spain and South Korea) and has sold and donated more than 100 artworks nationally and internationally.
Dr Shradha Pal Patil, a gynaecologist by profession who takes time to paint when others sleep, quips, “Art has always fascinated me, as the ability to create something on your own, is indeed truly beautiful. Painting canvasses had always been my dream. Everything that the brush does on canvas seems just magical! Just like medicine, art too heals.”
Another team member, Darpan who is also a self-taught artist, has exhibited the images or the visuals that come to her during meditation and Reiki. She believes that the art carries its own energy and goes wherever it is meant to. “For me, art is healing, art is meditation, art is deep love and profound joy,” says Darpan.
A lecturer in electrical engineering, with a keen passion for painting since a young age, Siddhi Talwadker has experimented with various techniques to create mixed medium work. She believes, “A stroke of paint before bed is all of an antidote you need after a stressful day.”
While working on the theme of Buddha, Simpi has played with pastel, light shades of water colours, accompanying tiny dots and surrounded by nature - flowers, petals, leaves and butterflies. “The way water colours challenge you, leaving no room for error, once the brush touches the paper, the magic that just a speck of pigment and water can do is simply unfathomable.”
A BE in Electronics and Telecommunications, Suyash Tanawade seems to be good with all sorts of mediums - pencil, charcoal, pen and paintbrush. His work is in pencil sketches, acrylic painting, pen art and water colours with catchy murals and mandalas. Trying to insert Buddha in a mandala circle with Madhubani art designes, Suyash has blended his engineering skills with sketching and painting. “Art has always fascinated me from my childhood years and I am self-learned artist. Painting and sketching refreshes my mind from the daily run-of“the-mill,” he shares.
