Monday, July 8, 2013

Traversing mundane for the magical world

Paramjit Singh’s landscapes, with their loaded silence evocative of the other worldly, became over the years, a distinct mystical utterance in pictorial terms. The esoteric element in his early landscapes was perhaps apt response to the mystery in tensions between the deep pictorial space and the sharp shadows of inanimate objects in the picture metafisica, a short-lived school in modem Italian art, and to the later Surrealist paintings. All these were transformed over about two decades into a personal statement in his wonderful paintings.

His recent noteworthy participations include 'Art for Humanity', Coomaraswamy Hall, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Mumbai (2012); 'Ethos V: Indian Art Through the Lens of History (1900 to 1980), Indigo Blue Art, Singapore (2011); 'Art Celebrates 2010', courtesy Gallery Threshold at Lalit Kala Akademi (LKA), Delhi to coincide with the Commonwealth Games (2010);  'Contemporary Printmaking In India', courtesy Priyasri Art Gallery, Mumbai at Jehangir Art Gallery (2010); and  'Freedom: Sixty Years After Indian Independence', CIMA, Kolkata (2008).

The veteran artist has participated in several important events and fairs in India and abroad, including 'Tryst with Destiny: Art from India', courtesy CIMA, Kolkata and Singapore Art Museum in association with NGMA, Delhi at Singapore Art Museum (1997); 'Chamatkara: Myth and Magic in Indian Art', courtesy CIMA, Kolkata at Whitley's Art Gallery, London (1996); ‘Indian Encounters’, London, New York and Dubai (1993); Art Biennale, Cairo, Egypt (1994); Art Festival, Israel (1994); Cultural Centre, West Germany (1987); and the First Young Asian Artists Exhibition, Tokyo (1957), among others.

Paramjit Singh’s practice is very significant in a sense that it creates a serene space for itself and of a truly aesthetic haven for its involved viewers. The passionate artist takes us through a continuum or series, skillfully evading any possibility of self-duplication. His paintings, done both in the representational and the realist style, come across as a gentle exploration of the myriad possibilities that exist beyond the mundane world and environ that surrounds us; traversing the humdrum of day-to-day life, noises and human activities as well as busy streets packed with people and vehicles.

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