Artists Fawad Tamkanat and Nipun Kumar might live across plains, plateaus and seas, but that didn’t stop them from connecting as artists and more importantly, as friends. So it was only apt that when they came together for a show, it would be titled, Crosscurrents.
Coming back to your hometown and hosting a show after 20 years is not a small matter, and Nipun is more than ecstatic. “When put simply, it feels amazing,” he says, adding, “I feel this show filled the gap for the last 20 years. I’ve connected with artists, met friends and even met my teacher Laxma Goud. Perhaps the best thing I heard yesterday was when Laxma sir said ‘Nipun has given me a jolt’.”
Artwork by Nipun
If this show brought Nipun back home, it was special for Fawad too because it is after 15 years that he is doing a two-man show. “I’ve done many shows but they have been mainly group shows. A show where 10 works of mine are on display is after 15 years. Apart from my new works, one of my oldest paintings that dates back to 15 years ago is on display. It is from the private collection of IPS officer S.A. Huda,” he says.
Fawad and Nipun have known each other for two decades. Nipun was Fawad’s junior at the University of Hyderabad and they met often at studios, and even studied under Laxma Goud. Even after Nipun moved to the US, they followed each other’s works.
The two are good friends, that is obvious, but most importantly, their connection as artists is very evident. “It’s important for artists to connect if they are doing a show together. Nipun’s work has such an international appeal and that has always interested me,” says Fawad.
Art work of Fawad
For Nipun, the art connection was very simple. “As artists, we connect better because we both have been connected through visual language. Both Fawad and I paint about urbanisation and that also brought us together,” says Nipun.
And if you thought that the Hyderabad show was all that they had to offer, you’re wrong. “We start our series of shows in our hometown and then we take it across the world,” says Nipun, while Fawad adds, “Our next show in December will be in Switzerland. Then we plan to start 2017 with a show in Paris.”
But that’s not where the speciality ends. “This is not just another travelling art show, because we don’t display the same works in the other shows. We have worked on a new set of works to add to our the shows. For instance, I have work that is more semi-abstract for the show in Switzerland,” says Fawad.
