The euphoric shades of nature

Kalakriti Art Gallery is conducting an exhibition on Gond art titled ‘Rekindling the Wonders of Gond Art’. The exhibition showcases the shades of a tribal land and celebration of the age-old Gondi imagination, through paintings, with a new perspective.

Gond is not only a style of painting, it is a tradition in itself and painting is one of the reflections through which one understands Gondi life. Participating artists are - Mayank Kumar Shyam, Ram Singh Urveti, Saroj Venkat Shyam and Venkat Shyam Singh.

In this display, one of the common and distinctive elements is the use of patterns, which shows how close the artists are with the Mother Nature.

Artist Mayank Shyam used these interesting patterns to infill the large forms on the canvas. He says, “Since my childhood, I saw colours and brushes around me because my father Jangarh Singh Shyam was a pioneering contemporary Indian artist and I am inspired by him.

He used to tell me that you should draw what comes in your mind don’t think much about the theme to paint.”

Ram Singh used beautiful and vibrant colours to depict local flora and fauna. Earlier, Ram was a daily wage labourer and now he is a professional Gond artist. “I never thought that I will travel the world for my exhibition,” he shares.

Venkat Shyam's playful compositions have a certain sense of balance and symmetry; he says, “I am doing this work for more than 30 years now and this is all about the joy of happiness. And I am happy that today we are able to explain our Gond art to people and we are getting appreciation from people.”

Saroj wife of Venkat says that she used to assist Venkat for a few years after her marriage later somebody told her ‘Kab tak assist karogyi’? (Till when will you assist him?) And later she realised that she should take up this full-time.

Her paintings have a strong concept, and a great sense of composition. The artist depicts the interdependent relationships with nature.

The exhibition is on view until September 27 from 11am – 7pm at Kalakriti Art Gallery, Banjara Hills.