An exhibition of Robert Rauchenberg in New York 20 years ago filled fresh ideas in the mind of Kanchan Chander to the extent that the Delhiite went on to work on an art series with focus on the trunk of the human body. It wasn바카라t as if this theme was totally new to her portfolio. Only that, on her return to India from that 1997 foreign tour, the torso began to be a visual obsession for the artist, immersing her in the motif much more frequently and sequentially.
Texas-born Rauchenberg, a popular painter and graphic artist, died in 2008 at the age of 82. Almost a decade later, Kanchan has come up with a solo exhibition of her unique set of works in what is now on in a gallery in the national capital. Whispering Torsos, as the August 18-23 show at India Habitat Centre is titled, is a bouquet of Kanchan바카라s paintings and drawings on canvases, paper and mixed media at the quiet venue that has a multi-object installation as the centrepiece.
바카라Mind you, the Rauchenberg works I saw had nothing to do with the torso. I liked his technique of using appendages like a chair or broom to the work. It바카라s the style that inspired me; not the subject,바카라 says Kanchan, who graduated from the Delhi College of Art in 1981. The artist went on come up constantly with works around the human trunk that Kanchan gained the name 바카라torso lady바카라 in the art circles.
Yes, the flurry of works did plateau a bit once they 바카라peaked바카라 half-a-dozen years ago, 바카라but of late, I felt like reviving them바카라hence this event,바카라 shrugs Kanchan, whose first work on the torso was put on display in 1995 at a show in Delhi바카라s Crafts Museum. It was as part of 바카라Shatadru바카라 that Alka Raghuvanshi curated by assembling select works of 55 women artists from across the country. 바카라I had to get the skeletal structure designed from cow-dung paste and bamboo-sticks. That part of it was done a craftsman, who otherwise works making Ravan effigies for Dusshera. It least had the smooth feminine bends, yet I somehow worked on to lend it the looks I wanted,바카라 the 60-year-old recalls.
It has been a long way since. Today, most of Kanchan바카라s works are so intricately done바카라바카라I want to leave no breathing space.바카라 It has a bit to do with my own personal life, she hints at certain troubled streaks of her past: 바카라Stuffing the figures with as much material as possible clears my heart. The shanti (tranquility) at the end of it is inexplicable,바카라 points out the artist who has several group and solo shows to her credit amid and after resigning as a teacher from her alma mater 12 years ago.
Whispering Torsos, curated by scholar-researcher Kiran K. Mohan, is a result of three years of conception and several hours of discussion between the two. Kiran describes Kanchan바카라s ongoing show a 바카라bold satirical expression바카라, given that the female torso is the 바카라most vital part that cages emotions, sensualities and sensitivities바카라.
The torso images of Kanchan, who was born to a family (her father was a diplomat) with no art heritage, revel in red and blue. 바카라One for rage, the other for peace,바카라 she smiles with a smirk, alluding to her own once-fickle temperament. 바카라Women across the world keep suppressing their feelings, unable to share it with most people around them in the family or outside. It바카라s all hush-hush. Call it 바카라silent shriek바카라. That바카라s also why my show goes this way.바카라
Occasionally, her art does conjure up the male torso too. 바카라In 2005, I did one such work. Big: 4 feet/6 feet,바카라 points out Kanchan, who typically signs her works in Hindi. 바카라An art collector man bought it.바카라
A globetrotter, Kanchan makes it a point to get herself exposed to the various art movements and genres across India and abroad. 바카라I keep updating myself. Not just that, I actually use whatever material I come across and find useful for my work,바카라 she says. 바카라Like, if I find a curious object lying on the footpath while walking, I might pick it up. At the hotel, if I find the napkins on the table interesting, I will order for a set of them as well.바카라
As the curator Kiran points out about Kanchan, 바카라Each day comes knocking to find a place in her studio where she painstakingly works to nurture strength and joy that would burn out the pain in her.바카라 Also, it is 바카라fascinating to see the teacher in her who gives her students the freedom to explore.바카라
Adds Uma Jain of Delhi바카라s Dhooomimal Gallery about Whispering Torsos: 바카라From images that we encounter in our everyday life to the fantasy world of comics to bold images, it has everything.바카라
