One of the leading contemporary artists Atul Dodiya is back with his solo exhibition after a span of about two years.
The show titled Malevich Matters & Other Shutters exhibits paintings which are developed around images of roller shutters.
There are 12 paintings in this series though only 11 are being displayed as the 12th painting is in Charles Saatchi’s collection. This painting was shown in the Indian art exhibition - The Emperor Strikes Back.
Atul says, “All the paintings in the exhibition are large works which measures 8ft by 5ft and are oil on canvas.” He adds, “I started working on this project in January 2008 and it took me 2 years to complete the works. When I was painting in oil for this exhibition, the history of paintings kept resonating in my mind -the Renaissance, great artists like Cezanne and Picasso. These works have the sheer joy of oil colour apart from humor with its intriguing elements.”
So what is it that is different in these works? Atul replies, “According to the medium, I change my subject matter. This time my half open shutters give you a glimpse of what I see in my world.” He adds, “I devised this tool - to paint the imagery on the shutter and there is also imagery beneath the shutter. Sometimes they contradict and at times they relate to each other.”
Though the show is ongoing at the Vadhera art gallery in Delhi, the show incorporates lots of imagery from aamchi Mumbai. “Some of the names of the stores in the city are extremely amusing and I always wonder how they decide on these names. So I have tried to incorporate this phenomenon in my paintings as well,” ends Atul.
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