Kalaa Spandan Art Fair Opens In Banjara Hills, 100 Diverse Artists Showcase 1,000 Works
Usha Bonepalli, meanwhile, continued painting throughout her career as an income tax officer.
Hyderabad:Hundreds of tiny squares, circles and stars together form a painting that reveals itself only when viewed from a distance. Elsewhere, ceramic bowls become canvases for creative expression; wood takes on the appearance of metal as it carves out Assam’s Kaziranga. These creations are made by artists with equally varied journeys, from a former fashion designer to a retired income tax officer and artists from various corners of the country. Traditional Tanjore paintings, Madhubani art, Odia Pattachitra, contemporary abstracts and sculptures add to this diversity at the Kalaa Spandan Art Fair, which opened at the Kalinga Cultural Centre in Banjara Hills on Friday with around 1,000 artworks by over 100 artists.
"Even this conversation we are having could be the result of hundreds of little moments that brought us here. That is what makes life beautiful, and I try to express that through my pixelated artwork," said Ashutosh Muarka, the artist behind Tiny Tile Moments.
Muarka calls his technique 'pixelism,' for which he first creates a grid and then fills it using acrylic colours and a brush, painting individual squares, circles and stars that form a larger image. He spent 15 years in fashion design before developing this style about four to five years ago.
Usha Bonepalli, meanwhile, continued painting throughout her career as an income tax officer. She later travelled to the United States to study fine arts and took voluntary retirement, eventually finding a way to combine her interest in painting with ceramics.
"Most of the techniques I use were learnt in the US, and I also source my glazes from there. Recently, I started making my own glazes because I don't want repetitive colours. I want every piece to be different," Bonepalli, a ceramic artist, who has worked in the medium for about seven years, explained.
Mukesh Bose, another participating artist, experiments with materials and familiar images. Originally from Assam, he moved to Hyderabad in 2003 and now operates a studio from his home.
"Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam is an enormous work on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. I couldn't recreate something of that scale, so I selected a small portion of it for my artwork," said Bose, explaining one of his interpretations of the Renaissance painting.
Nature and farm life are another subject in his collection along with his abstract work. Nest, is one such abstract painting which he said takes inspiration from birds building shelters to protect their young.
The wider exhibition is curated by Sudeep Chakraborty, founder of the Indian Art Fair initiative. It continues until Sunday, November 1.
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