BHARATI PAWASKAR
He has never been in any art school, however, his tryst with pen and paper, colours and canvas began too early - when he was just eight and continues till date, in his late 20s. A self-taught artist Manjunath Kambar who adorns a BSc degree in computers, has several live art shows, stage performances, artistic stage making for events to his credit. Apart from painting, other art forms like sculpture, modelling, graphics, architecture, literature, writing and digital designing interest him a lot. Based on oil colours and acrylics, his works are realistic in nature.
And Manjunath neither has formal training in any art school nor does he cling to any godfather to support him in his chosen career. None from his family members belong to his tribe of artists. However, he had a compelling pull towards art and its various forms since childhood. Little Manjunath recalls drawing his teacher’s portrait in primary school, in class V. His experiments with water colours, oil pastels and acrylic began at that young age. But as there was no art school in the vicinity, he couldn’t pursue it further and rolled out from a regular, normal schooling in Lokapur, Karnataka.
Though several artists and their work inspired him in his journey in the world of art, however, Manjunath considers eminent artist BKS Varma as his Guru, his idol, his mentor and his role model. Rama Sutar, artist of world biggest monolithic statue, volunteered to meet and share his experiences about art with him. The famous Kannada poet Dr Chandrasekhar Kambar and film star V Ravichandran have high regards for Manjunath’s art.
Never making his training and expertise in computers the source of his livelihood, Manjunath depends solely on painting for his living. “Art is my breath. It earns me my bread,” claims this 27-year-old artist working in Karnataka for the past 15 years. Manjunath is holding his exhibition in Goa for the first time, though art critics from his home state Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra are familiar with his art form.
Why painting? And Manjunath is quick to reply, “It’s my medium to express the feelings. It’s my craze. It gives me happiness.” Manjunath has lived as a professional artist, a painter for the past decade, making painting his full-time engagement. He has been holding solo exhibitions for the past six years. When he was just 23, Manjunath founded an art organization Vishwakarma Art Creations dedicated to art activities.
“I wanted to devote my life to the art. I devote a lot of time every day to art. The themes, propositions, messages and feelings that are highlighted in my artwork are universally concerned and sympathetic to the artist’s vision. I open up to the world through art,” says Manjunath who finds that many of the endangered works of art stand as a cultural contribution to growth.
He learnt and practiced different forms of art independently. The genres of the modern world including Western art, modern art, and many other works of art inspire him. He is also mesmerized with the history of Indian painters and the contemporary artists who collaborate with them to create a unique artistry and create a unique achievement in their own style, and he spent a lot of time in life. “My goal is creating paintings in different concepts. I dream to build an art gallery for the upcoming artists. I want to create revolution in art,” he announces.
