Questioning the materialistic quest

Artist Riaz Samadhan articulates a sense of self alienation caused by the increased desire of consumption. The world has been transformed into a marketplace and the prevalent culture of excess has created excessive options through our apparent freedom to choose. The race is on for more. Run be the first: but where we’re heading, he asks: “Are we running away from ourselves? Are we running towards a standstill?

Perceived reality invariably has another hidden layer to it, often unfathomable, which fills the artist’s mind with countless queries. It arouses curiosity and a sense of wonder in Riaz Samadhan that his paintings try to unravel. Rearranging of a logical line allows the artist to create his own world and enjoy his artistic freedom. The artist consciously discards his comfort zone and abdicates a conventional line thinking in order to test his technical and perceptional abilities.

Two colliding images give birth to a third entity, entirely unknown, with its own unique properties, to provide a great psychological expanse. To him, the challenge lies in dislocating the elements from their roots by changing their color, appearance, surface and the connotations attached to them. This results in the perceptional tension. This transports him into the uncharted territories, allowing him to rediscover himself.

By not striving to make his paintings visually coherent, he looks to challenge the viewer’s set notions. Explaining his thought process, he states, “I am not particularly keen on selecting the genre for the subject matter. Usually, it’s my (spontaneous) reaction to any particular incident. If creativity imitates life, and if life moves at a tangent, then trying to create a pattern, analogy, evolution or logic is like decoding the cuckoos’ song. To be in the moment is important to me.

In acknowledgment of his immense talent, the artist has won several awards including the Bombay Art Society Award in (2001-02), the Maharashtra State Award (1987, 1992), and Outstanding Work Award, Sir J.J. Institute of Applied Art, in 1992.