Canvas, a reflection of life

The theatre performer’s life on stage and off-stage, is the main theme of the Surabhi bred, Santiniketan nurtured artist Chinna’s works

Askari Jaffer

Chinna Venkat Rao was born and brought up in the Venkateswara Natya Mandali Surabhi theatre. He lived amidst art and went on to get his MFA from Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan. It is but obvious that theatre and painting are interconnected in his art. He says, “In theatre we see theatre drapes and stage curtains which are large pieces of cloth designed to mask backstage areas from spectators. They are designed for a variety of purposes and come in several types. I paint these drapes myself and I learnt the art from my grandfather.”

His show “Chinna and His Friends” opened at Alliance Francaise on Thursday. Chinna’s works showcased at the exhibition are based on the theme Natakam (play). They show the struggle of Surabhi theatre, the family tradition and the style of work which is different from other theatre groups.

“Alliance Française supported our theatre family (Sri Venkateswara Natya Mandali) by organising our first international tour to France. We were 43 members from our family and we performed in France, and I too travelled with the group. They liked my work on the drapes and since I also do paintings they found it more than relevant to organise an exhibition of my works along with a few of my other artist friends, after the trip,” shares Chinna.

His friend, Pankaj Damodar Borkar used some old techniques for creating new age artworks for the exhibition. His paintings seem to be screaming for pure air to breathe and for some space to live. Aravind’s work is inspired by surrealism and the bidi makers of his native place. Goutam Pal’s work is a kind of survey where his role is that of a witness and an event watcher and Ch Gandhi’s works are the reflection of this uneasiness in the city.