|
There
are haunting images of the ancient times with a thread of continuity
that links them with those of today. A strange feeling is stirred
in one. A sort of realisation a glimpse of the nature of things
creeps in. Myths and legends find a place in the composition.
Images from Egypt, from other countries with ancient civilisations
are introduced. A glimpse of life and death. A silent, cool
statement.
Mohan Samant:
“The impetus for my painting is the fusion of the painterly
work of ancient myths within the reality of the contemporary
art... I fuse the symbols of Hindu mythology and ancient Egyptian
wall paintings with the modern day art world of New York city.
My aesthetic relationship to the vast visual resources from
antiquity to the present day has helped form my unique style
of painting and serves to provide an ongoing stimulus to its
continuous development.”
In New
York, he developed the linear relief and hieroglyphic aspect
of Egyptian art and the rough texture of the Lascaux caves into
a contemporary synthesis while retaining the colours of the
Indian miniature paintings. In recent years, he has added to
this textured surface an extra dimension with wire drawings,
affixed to the canvas.
Mohan Samant
who is now based in New York is presenting his works at the
Birla Art Gallery, Century Bhavan. The wired drawings against
a coloured surface invest the composition with great beauty.
In Mohan
Samant's paintings, we see unique perceptions and understanding,
top-class technique, fascinating arrangements and fine drawing
and apt colour sense. They are the creations of a master.
|