G.R.Iranna’s ‘Ribbed Routes‘

G.R. Iranna’s new series, entitled ‘Ribbed Routes‘, comprises his latest sculptural works that address some pressing issues pertinent to our times.

His profound work transcends the boundaries of time and space. Many of his paintings depict pain as an abstract force visually translated in bruised textures. The figures often have a tranquil sacredness or detached beauty that point to another reality. His recent artworks are all visions of resistance. They are the result of his attempt to break away from his own mold and reflect his urge to tackle many contradictory demands those of society as well as his own.

His new body of work at The Guild Art Gallery generates a gamut of emotions – agony as well as relief, despair and hope! In ‘Peace and Pieces’, a sculpture that forms part of it, the act of Buddha attaining freedom from the perpetual cycle of life and death is envisioned as the moment to desperately claim the body that is a symbol of peace. The idea is to create an allegory of our troubled times. The artist has sandblasted the fiberglass sculpture to resemble the monumental sculptures of ancient and medieval art history.

His ‘Still Saddled’ is slightly different from other works in terms of the message and medium. In it a life-like donkey lies on his side, his entire body shaking with the effort to breath. A large black box strapped on his back is ubiquitous of the search device, as though it can resolve all the mysteries of a crime or an accident. The beast is dying under its burden. It exudes a silence of distress .

Akin to a pointed social commentary, G.R. Iranna’s ‘Ribbed Routes‘ exposes us to the blatant truth of our times.