Using mud, Gujarati artist Devji Shrimali's artworks try to convey a social, religious message
No matter how successful or busy a woman is, her world always revolves around her family. That is perhaps one of the many attributes that differentiates her from a man. Artist Devji Shrimali, who is known for his realistic and abstract paintings, has tried to depict this aspect in his exhibition titled Architecture fantasy, that begins today at Darpan Art Gallery, Patrakar Nagar Lane, Off Senapati Bapat Road from 11 am to 8 pm.
If you are trying to figure out the relation between the theme and the title of the show, we understand your confusion. The word architecture makes one to think of buildings, monuments and the like. But, Shrimali is trying to explore the architecture of the mind, especially that of a woman’s. And that works as a perfect palette for his artworks. “I have been working on this since 1994, and almost all my artworks depict this. For a woman, it is always her family which comes first, no matter how occupied she is in her daily routine. For some, their world is their family, and that’s what I have tried to depict,” says the Gujarat-based artist, who has also tried to show the plight of cows in the Indian society through his paintings.
In a career spanning over three decades, Shrimali has organised several exhibitions within the country as well as abroad. And in each of these exhibitions he has tried to convey a social or religious message through his paintings. What also makes his paintings so unique is the fact that he uses natural colours, which he makes from scratch. “It is quite a lengthy process. First, one needs to take mitti (mud) and mix water in it, after which it is kept for 15 days to dry. Once that is done, it is pounded to make a powder, which is finally mixed with water and used as paint. The paint is so good, that years later if one were to see the paintings, they would appear brand new,” he explains.
The exhibition will continue till August 6, and the paintings displayed are for sale, ranging from Rs30,000 to Rs75,000.
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