An exhibition of artist Ratnadeep Adivrekar's recent works

Bangalore based Crimson – the art resource – presents recent works by talented artist Spelling out the spirit of his practice, he states: “Art as whole inspires me. Importance of art in nurturing self-discovery and progression drives me. The idea is to record and reflect my journey with personal historical and local references. As an artist I like to play with origins and improvisations. Obscuring the identities of the artist depicted and questioning the relationships with art.

Visual culture is growing as an effect of globalization especially seen in the cultural and political dynamics of 'postcolonial' societies. He adds, “I am in a nomadic position with all the cultural baggage. Search for profound existential meaning. A jigsaw of fragments where the answer/end result is unknown."

His father’s achievements and recognition have been a constant source of inspiration, albeit bringing with it an added sense of responsibility, for Ratnadeep Adivrekar. Interestingly, he initially wished to do ‘something different’, and opted to join the science faculty. However, the shift was short-lived, as the love of art running deep in his veins prompted him to turn to painting again. He won the Bendre Hussain Scholarship in 2002 and received the Maharashtra State Art Award in the same year apart from securing National Scholarship by Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi (2001).

Outlining his artistic motivations, he has noted: “As an artist there is a constant process of re-examination - to dig out the roots for identity. I try to reconstruct sublime personal and historical memories that fade in and out of my work. I am interested in the way a painting can portray the existential human condition by showing an instantaneous chronology comprised of all coexisting events of one's life. I try to unify the painting by composition of several images into a whole that manages to be organized and messy, arbitrary yet peculiarly logical.”