Most art works are either designed as squares, rectangles or triangles that are created by combining lines and curves. However, for Mumbai-based Tao Art Gallery’s 18th anniversary exhibition titled No Corners, which opened on February 26, 41 artists created works that are circular, elliptical or of unconventional shapes. Well-known names including Ali Akbar Mehta, Arzan Khambatta, Baiju Parthan, Brinda Miller, Jayasri Burman, Jaideep Mehrotra and Paresh Maity are a part of this event along with new names such as Mehul Rathod and Vipul Prajapati.

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Kalpana Shah, founder of Tao Art Gallery, says, “Corners are comfortable. They chart out familiar territory and represent geometric shapes that we all know and love — squares, rectangles and triangles. But what if there were no corners, no meeting points or limitations, just a continuous boundary that encompasses all? No Corners is an abstract thought of no limits. A journey that is undertaken with absolute freedom and with the power of our imagination being our sole companion."

Shah got the idea while interacting with a few artists and states that all the art works have a surprise element for viewers. “The participants have conceptualised and approached the theme in a different way.”

Quiz her about giving young artists a platform to showcase their works along with reputed names, and she says, “As a gallery, we want to promote artists who are sincere and passionate about their work.”

Acclaimed artist Paresh Maity, who is famous for using vivid hues and seeking inspiration for his works, has created Flying High. The painting, which is in a circular shape, boasts of myriad tones of blue such as topaz, indigo, royal blue and turquoise, and explores the concept of the circle of life. He says, “It’s unique to visualise your work without the purview of linear geometrical shapes. This is not the first time that I have done such work. About seven years ago, I started making round paintings and they have been exhibited in various parts of the world. What’s challenging about this concept is that you don’t know where to start the painting from. It can be dicey to create the composition and compose the subject as all sides are the same. I have tried to depict the concept of eternity on the canvas using the blue colour. It depicts our relationship with harmony, intimacy and love and drives home the point about how life goes on forever. After all, Aristotle had said, ‘All art is what but an imitation of nature’.”

Ahmedabad-based artist Vipul Prajapati, whose works are dominated by the themes of dockyards and industrial labour, has created the painting I Will Be Stronger Than My Sadness. Elaborating the thought behind it, he says, “When I had gone to Alang, the ship breaking yard in Gujarat, I witnessed the whole process of how a ship is dismantled and was fascinated by it. I saw builders breaking a ship that was as high as 10 storeys and its remains were beautiful. I have tried to depict that same process in this painting. It not only shows labourers working hard on a ship but also has a deeper philosophical meaning of how life is full of strife.”

For this particular work, Prajapati has incorporated found objects. He explains, “I have used an ATM refill filter, small toys, nuts and bolts and printouts of fonts found outside a laser printing shop. The works are dominated by the themes of work sites, dockyards and industrial labourers. The idea is to show how we can create something new from urban waste.”