Satish Gujral's ‘Tryst with Modernity & Tradition’

Veteran artist Satish Gujral’s new series of works, entitled ‘Tryst with Modernity and Tradition’ comprises his recent paintings, drawings, and sculptures. There are over 25 paintings, 10 drawings and 15 sculptures first on view at Jehangir Art Gallery and later at Cymroza Art Gallery, Mumbai.

The works explore the conflict and synergy, as the artist sees and perceives, between traditions and modernity. They reflect his minute observations, deep experiences and inner thoughts about the opposing and blending forces of tradition and technology. Though innovations and new techniques have become a part of our lives, roots of our culture and traces of past influences are still alive. Responding to this, the artist constructs a new visual and cultural language formed by the co-existence, confluence and contrast between tradition and modernity.

He quips: “I wouldn’t say I am a modernist or traditionalist. I just believe in what I see, and have tried to depict the contemporary man at work and play through an imagery that to my vision represents the physical and aesthetic form of the times he lives in.” In his previous show ‘Time’s Whirlwind’ in Kolkata, he tried to grasp the relationship between man and technology. The two-dimensional images reflected the human struggle to cope with machines and how elements of nature were involved in the complex process. The new exhibit merges that idea with Indian mythology.

A constant yearning to strike a balance between tradition and modernity is evident. Indian gods and goddesses have been projected alongside the machines. The gods are dangling from the levers of machines, teetering on the brinks and dancing on their truncated parts. The hallmarks of his oeuvre - fragmented imagery, vibrant colors, and meticulous attention to detail - are visible. In a way, his subtle message of ‘evolve, sans letting your roots die’ comes to the fore in ‘Tryst with Modernity and Tradition’.