A visit of Ary Gallery - 22 July 2024

 A background 

• Name of Artist - Tajindar Kanda
• Place - Shridharani Gallery, Triveni Kala Sangam, New Delhi
• Style / art movement / genre - Figurative art, Abstract expressionism, Acrylic paint, uses impasto techniques. 

Underlying Philosophy - Abstract Expressionism 

• Abstract Expressionist artists used their techniques, tools, and materials to convey ideas and emotions that couldn't be expressed through everyday images. They wanted their work to be direct and immediate, and to reveal their authentic identity. Artists didn't want their work to be confined by recognizable imagery.
• For Abstract Expressionists, the authenticity or value of a work lay in its directness and immediacy of expression. A painting is meant to be a revelation of the artist’s authentic identity. The gesture, the artist’s “signature,” is evidence of the actual process of the work’s creation

Reference - https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/abex/hd_abex.htm

Thoughts 

Beauty and Criticism of Abstract expressionism - What do they mean? 

The very first thought that ran into my mind was how should I make sense of these abstract pieces of artwork? What meaning could they have? Do they even have a meaning or are utterly meaningless? What if I was wrong? - can there be anything right or wrong absolutely? What if this painting can bear the meaning given to it by me, the painter or by any one for that matter all at the same time? - Wait! Does such a thing even exist? Common sense suggests that if A is A then it cannot exist as B at the same time and if it exists as B then it is not A. 

I think this is the beauty as well as criticism of Abstract art - it lacks objectivity in the sense there’s nothing definitive here. 

Yes, abstract expressionism claims that the paintings produced by the artist are reflective of the inner emotions of the artist. This does give someone a point of reference to build a line of thought. But then I have the freedom to ask - what emotions themselves are in themselves? Therefore my conclusion is these types of artworks are contemplative in nature and are not meant to have a definite answer.

Observations w.r.t the paintings 

1. Though the paintings were abstract they were surely not random i.e. they were well thought of. 
2. This can be established by
1. Looking at the colors in the paintings - they were very vibrant, schematic and skilfully used.
2. Each painting has different layers of paint to it and impasto technique is applied to them. These layers were not haphazard, they were very well thought of and intensional. 
3. Though I had more questions than answers when looking for meaning or making sense of paintings, if you look at them apart from finding meaning, they are an absolutely gorgeous palette of colors. 
4. I did see something definitive in each one of these paintings but not sure if it’s objectively true. I think that’s the fun part of these artworks. 

 

The painting which resonated with me

I was trying hard to make sense of it. Got tired, took some breaks and then again got mentally active to make sense of it and finally I could give some meaning to it. The very next moment I realized - is this not exactly how I was doing in day to day life at the moment? This made me feel better - that one day everything would make some sense and have a definitive form and if not I must keep trying to make sense of whatever I have in front of me!! 

Other paintings in the exhibition.