Senior artist C. Douglas showcases a new series of paintings that stems from his long-standing engagement with both philosophy and poetry, to go with his visceral commitment to core practice. It’s between philosophy (love of knowledge) and poesis (making in the poetic sense) that this body of work may ultimately reach consummation with the very materiality of painting.
A part of the Art Chennai initiative, the significant art show exposes us to the paintings by the sensitive artist that represents his return to Cubist-inspired serene spaces, with several layers deepening the density and depth of the compositions.
The internationally recognized artist has for several years lived and worked in the world-famous Cholamandal Artists’ Village, a popular artists’ commune just on the outskirts of Chennai. Along with the peaceful setting there, his thought processes have been greatly influenced by philosophical and literary exploration, encompassing Lacan, Eliot, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Milton.
From the vast bibliography of scholarly texts he extracts and weaves the fabric of his fascinating art. His new series, entitled ‘Blind Poet and the Butterfly' combines the mysterious metaphors of the blind poet with the seeing butterfly. Blindness here though doesn't symbolize a physical handicap, rather a revolt against the autocracy of the eye - denoting a way of viewing beyond what gets physically registered on our mind. Conversely, butterflies are carrying the images of eyes on the back of their wings to deceive and deter predators; so where the poet tends to feign blindness, the beautiful creature feigns eyes.
The series recognizes the intrinsic instabilities of language alongside that of the gaze. Blending both text and image, using the word ‘word' repeatedly, his works illustrate the limits of language as a mode of communication, and how it actually operates within the larger fabric of boundless context and reference. He recognizes it as built on a system of peculiar arbitrary signs and symbols, concluding that ‘meaning' is not something fixed, but a protean entity forever being formed and reformed set in the crucible of contemporary society.
‘Blind Poet and the Butterflies’ by C Douglas continues till 30 March at Focus art Gallery, Chennai.
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Dear ,
ReplyDeleteIt is a wonderfull exhibition .
And what a pleasure to see the portrait of Gertrude Stein by Riba-Rovira .
And also the Preface Gertrude Stein wrote for his first exhibition in the Galerie Roquepine in Paris on 1945 .Where we can read Gertrude Stein writing Riba-Rovira"will go farther than Cezanne...will succeed in where Picasso failed...I am fascinated "by Riba-Rovira she tells us .
And you are you also fascinated indeed as Gertrude Stein ?
But Gertrude Stein spoke also in this same document about Matisse and Juan Gris .And we learn Riba-Rovira went each week in Gertrude Stein's saloon rue Christine .
With Edward Burns and Carl Van Vechten we can know Riba-Rovira did others portraits of Gertrude Stein .
But we do not know where they are ;and you do you know perhaps ?
With this wonderful portrait we do not forget it is the last time Gertrude Stein sat for an artist who is Riba-Rovira .
So it is one of the last text where she gives her last art vision .As a light over that exhibition now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York .
Coming from San Francisco "Seeing five stories" to Washington and now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York for our pleasure .
And the must is to see for the first time in the same place portraits by Picasso, Picabia, Tall-Coat, Riba-Rovira, Valloton .
You have the translate of Gertrude Stein's Riba-Rovira Preface on english Gertrude Stein's page and in the catalog of this exhibition you can see in first place the mention of this portrait .And also other pictures Gertrude Stein bought him .
And you have another place where you can see now Riba-Rovira's works it is an exhibition in Valencia in Spain "Homenage a Gertrude Stein" by Riba-Rovira in Galleria Muro ,if you like art ...
Cesera
when I speak about translate in english of the Gertrude Stein's Roquepine Preface for Riba-Rovira it is on Wikipedia where you have english pages about Riba-Rovira and Gertrude Stein .
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