‘My horses are not like Husain’s’
The one thing Delhi-based artist Amitesh Verma has been asked most often is whether he is inspired by MF Husain.
Artist Amitesh Verma, who is exhibiting his works at a city art gallery, says it is the quiet power of the animal that fuels his creativity on canvas.
The one thing Delhi-based artist Amitesh Verma has been asked most often is whether he is inspired by MF Husain. Each time he says laughing, “Look, my horses are not like Husain’s. He is a senior artist, but I am not inspired by him. My work comes from my own thoughts.”
A self-confessed animal lover, Verma portrays horses with the taut sinews poised in various stages of motion. There is great attention to detail and several works have lot of smudges, redundant lines and empty spaces.
“The latter signifies my own personal losses in life,” he says.
His works titled Stallion Search, which is on exhibit at the Jehangir Art Gallery till September 15, is a result of 10 years of studying race horses. He studied them at railway stations, horse clubs and the Delhi race course – the latter, where she stayed for 7-8 years.
“I come across so many people, especially collectors, who want to buy me a horse and even ask me to come to their farms and draw. But I believe in being free and finding my own motivation,” says Verma.
He also has plans to buy his own steed. “Once someone offered me a horse for Rs 2 lakh, but it was an older, retired animal. I hope to buy a good racehorse, like a Dartmoor, which is a British breed,” he says.
Having held his first solo show in Mumbai at Olive restaurant at Mahalaxmi race course, the artist was quite taken up by the ambience of the place.
“I’d love to take up my oils and canvas and work here now,” he says, adding, “I find it much more civilised than the racecourse in Delhi.”
For now, Verma is off to Florence for a month to study masters like Michaelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. “The subject is human anatomy. I might take it up entirely as it fascinates me,” he confesses.
t_ismat@dnaindia.net
The one thing Delhi-based artist Amitesh Verma has been asked most often is whether he is inspired by MF Husain. Each time he says laughing, “Look, my horses are not like Husain’s. He is a senior artist, but I am not inspired by him. My work comes from my own thoughts.”
A self-confessed animal lover, Verma portrays horses with the taut sinews poised in various stages of motion. There is great attention to detail and several works have lot of smudges, redundant lines and empty spaces.
“The latter signifies my own personal losses in life,” he says.
His works titled Stallion Search, which is on exhibit at the Jehangir Art Gallery till September 15, is a result of 10 years of studying race horses. He studied them at railway stations, horse clubs and the Delhi race course – the latter, where she stayed for 7-8 years.
“I come across so many people, especially collectors, who want to buy me a horse and even ask me to come to their farms and draw. But I believe in being free and finding my own motivation,” says Verma.
He also has plans to buy his own steed. “Once someone offered me a horse for Rs 2 lakh, but it was an older, retired animal. I hope to buy a good racehorse, like a Dartmoor, which is a British breed,” he says.
Having held his first solo show in Mumbai at Olive restaurant at Mahalaxmi race course, the artist was quite taken up by the ambience of the place.
“I’d love to take up my oils and canvas and work here now,” he says, adding, “I find it much more civilised than the racecourse in Delhi.”
For now, Verma is off to Florence for a month to study masters like Michaelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. “The subject is human anatomy. I might take it up entirely as it fascinates me,” he confesses.
t_ismat@dnaindia.net