‘Holy Smoke and other works’ by Ebenzer

New York based RL Fine Arts presents an exhibition of new works by artist Ebenzer Sunder Singh. He is one of India’s exciting contemporary painters and sculptors.

Ebenezer is a graduate of the Art Institute of Boston, Lesley University. His new exhibition, entitled ‘Holy Smoke and other works’, comprises a group of portraits of famous creative ‘artists’, pictured with their personal accessory, a cigarette. The works show a variety of philosophers, writers, directors and artists, each of whom has personally influenced Ebenezer.

A press release elaborates: “The posture of each, defiantly smoking, seems to bond these ‘supermen’ together. Some of them return the viewer’s gaze, others we only look upon. The act of smoking itself as a creative tool, a lifestyle and even, a process, is expressed in these works. All these artists are a source of intense creative energy and focus, each blazing a trail in their respective metiers.

The addition of bulbs on the canvas in the Holy Smoke works are used as elements of composition and also, indirectly, as homage to the various personalities, much as one would light a bulb or a flame in commemoration. Also included in the show is the artist’s dazzling new work, ‘Dance around the Golden Calf’, which though seemingly disconnected from the theme of smoking, nevertheless, abounds with the spirit of creative energy that emanates from the colorful and ebullient portraits.

This Dance conjures up the spirit of Matisse’s famous ‘Dance’, and yet brings it into the present world, where possibly, the art world dances around the ‘golden calf’. Ebenezer’s wonderfully loose technique and style of painting produces works where brilliant color and bold brushstrokes lead to paintings that resonate with energy and life force. For him painting is cathartic, like a stream of consciousness, where the artwork is composed as it is composed, not planned and executed to a previous design.

Ebenezer seizes the canvas and creates vibrant paintings that celebrate the art of ‘painting’ as much as they celebrate human energy and inspiration.