Sunday, July 8, 2012

A solo show of works by one of India’s best watercolorists

Gallery Sumukha is currently hosting ‘Wishes’, a solo show of wonderful watercolor paintings by Samir Mondal. Renowned for his skill with water colors, especially in large formats and he has held demonstrations of his dexterity with large sized watercolors, which are often in vibrant colors. In his endeavor to introduce the oil painting elements in watercolor, he developed deft textures and structural features as if they’re oils.

As an artist, he has stood the test of this fantastic versatility. His watercolors have never lost their originality, their innovative approach and their classic elegance, yet they are truly modern paintings. His major contribution to Indian art of modern times is a continual revival of watercolor. He has endowed them with the status of oils, projecting a wonderful facet that was never visualized before.

He keenly observed the characteristics of oil-painting, noted the inherent quality of oils, their richness and substance. In his endeavor to include these elements in watercolor, he developed textures and structural features as if they are oils.

His spontaneous usage of fresh colors to generate dramatic images of women, flowers and butterflies is indeed unique. This facet goes with his ability of manipulating the medium, to create amazing and descriptive possibilities. 

He has once stated: “"Picture making in watercolor is an exciting game. Color becomes my opponent. Every stroke of my brush is countered by color itself and overwhelms me. Over the years, several icons have dominated my consciousness. Typically I started with landscapes, then stylized figures, and then themes. I would take one subject and explore it from all angles possible. Always though, the theme was an essential part of my life, a process in which I was personally involved."

At one point of time, he was very much preoccupied with the depiction of beautiful nature and its hues. He initially grappled with conventional watercolor themes like birds, flowers and landscape before he felt the need for a change. The artist has been quoted as saying, "Watercolor is flimsy, foggy and weightless. It starts breaking on the paper."

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