This Delhi exhibition puts the spotlight on unique abstract art

With the pollution levels rising in the city, one would think of poor quality the moment word ‘breath’ is mentioned. But, that’s not true for an upcoming exhibition of artworks in ceramic and on canvas, in the Capital. The exhibition allows a much-needed break from the monotony of everyday lives while celebrating the hues of monochrome. Titled Breathing Spaces, this group exhibition has two solo shows running parallelly — one has collaborative ceramic works by artists Rahul Kumar and Chetnaa; and the other has paintings by Kaushik Saha.

Rahul, a ceramicist for more than two decades, says, “I met Chetnaa at her last solo show in 2016, and we gradually started working together. Over a period of two years, we have developed works that will now be displayed at this show.”

Chetnaa, who has earlier worked with pen on paper, says, “I have done a short course in ceramics, but unlike Rahul I wasn’t a professional. And, for me, perfection and lines are very important.”

It therefore becomes interesting to know how the organic clay came to be in harmony with the linear format of geometry. “We replaced the pen by making incisions in the clay. Somewhere, we have layered the clay and somewhere there are incisions… For instance, in the work TerraGeometrix, which has 220 pieces in it, is a collaboration that has sensibilities of Rahul and me, both. I have played with geometry and there’s also lattice work in it. The textures have been taken from the urban spaces around us,” says Chetnaa.

Taking example of another work, titled The Golden Triangle, Rahul says, “My work reinvents things from nature in my own visual language to represent the contrast of opposing energies: symmetry and rigidity alongside the organic and fluid nature of the clay. The artwork The Golden Triangle has stoneware, clay, stain and gold-leaf. And it takes its reference from a Japanese technique called kintsugi, wherein the cracks in broken ceramics are covered and beautified with gold.”

The minimalistic designs in black and white are open from the artists’ point of view for interpretation. And, also correlate with the four canvases of Kaushik Saha, who has been juxtaposing and assimilating advertisement and hoardings for past two years. His works, from a particular perspective, appear to be abstract landscapes. But, on a closer look, one finds deeper meaning to these artworks in acrylic on ply board or canvas. Kaushika says, “When I saw the advertisement world taking over our landscapes, I decided to use the blank hoardings as my canvas, and created landscapes on it. These landscapes are in black and white, and hence go with the theme of ‘breathing spaces’.”

CATCH IT LIVE

What: Breathing Spaces
Where: Exhibit 320, F-320, Old M B Road, Lado Sarai
When: November
Timing: 10.30am to 6.30pm
Nearest Metro Station: Malviya Nagar on Yellow Line