Wednesday, March 14, 2012

A sensitive artist’s intensely personal commentary

The artist is constantly looking to evolve new forms of expressions and add fresh perspective or dimension - a form of twisted metal, an old signboard, an unusual curved surface, a molded back etc. The frames of his canvases are not mere defining boundaries, but rather integral elements of the overall work. In fact, it’s the frame or the found object, which inspires him at times to paint.

Sensitive, albeit subtle in his portrayal of both real and imagined realms, Sunil Pawal’s canvases express the feelings he harbors deep inside on personal as well as social aspects - politics, religion, human relations, and responses to current situations. His immaculate work prompts you to pause, think and reflect. Akin to a sculptor who adds and subtracts upon the surface of a piece of art, layers of color are built and also scratched out.

‘Soliloquies: Notes from the drawing book’, a thought-provoking body of works just hosted at the Mumbai-based Gallery BMB, depicted the chaos, confusion and complexity of urban life. His latest suite of works, incorporating five different drawing series is his spontaneous reaction to the ostensible ‘progress’ and its impact on our lives as well as immediate surroundings. Apparently upset by the nagging reality, he moans the sorry state of affairs after more than six decades of independence.

Elaborating on the concept, an accompanying note stated: “The hypocrisies of present day society in the name of development, the ancient social & religious cruelties, the never ending corruption, the fanaticism and the various other turpitudes; one just cannot escape from reality of our everyday life. This is an attempt to bring a form to all that unsettles you, all the fragmented expressions - affected by hundreds of questions. This particular feeling of your own observation of reality you want to express in some ways- is a kind of a monologue or rather soliloquy.”

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