A melting pot of art

The four day India Art Festival (IAF) has attracted diverse artists and artworks including paintings, sculptures, photographs, original prints, installations and serigraphs. The muliti city art fair is an amalgamation of artists, art collectors, gallerists, art buyers and connoisseurs. Artists of all ages and working with different medium have displayed their artworks at IAF. Some of the attractions include nail art, needle work, Tanzanian Tingatinga art, media on wood, bronze scultuptres, lithographs and etched works.

Many artists who have exhibited at India Art Festival have been able to join the mainstream art circuit, shares the festival organiser Rajendra. 400 artists from six countries and 25 different cities are participating in the mega art fair that was inaugurated in the city on Thursday.

Sewing beauty
Working with a very different medium — needle and thread — Rajrani Sisodia’s work stands out in the gallery. While it is common to see flora in the form of embroidery, it is rare to come across embroidered portraits of people. Bringing out diverse facial expressions through this medium, her work is enchanting. She has also embroidered landscapes, mythological characters, flora-fauna as well as people in action. “I started embroidery when I was 15, it has been a self-learning process. It is not an established art form. I have also supported less privileged people through this art,” says Sisodia. Unlike working with colours on canvas, her art form takes a long time to materialise.

Drawing grace
Srikala Gangi Reddy, from Bengaluru, has brought the beauty of dance to life on canvas. Charcoal painted Odissi dancers seem to come alive in her paintings. “These are based on the dancers of Nrityagram. Nriyagram dancers have a particular way of life. Their surroundings and the way they live is very holistic. When I saw them perform and saw the journey that they went through, I was very inspired. I then decided to represent them on canvas, capturing the aesthetics of the human body in moments of sheer grace and divine harmony.” Reddy watches them dance for hours and captures pictures before translating them on canvas.

Nailed it!
Nails are what Wajid Khan uses to make his artistic statement. He hammers iron nails into hard acrylic or PVC foam sheets to create portraits or abstracts. He has used abortion equipment to create a portrait of a girl child, sending across a strong message against sex-selective abortion. Similarly, he has created a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi by using bullets and used car engine parts to create a horse. “All these are contradictory elements that bring out the irony of the situation. Other portraits of famous people that have been made with nails, represent the pain and struggle that these people have gone through to achieve a certain goal in their life,” says Khan, who has been experimenting with nail art since his childhood.

For wildlife lovers
Samina Sachak, a Tanzanian of Indian origin, paints her love for wildlife. “Tanzania is known for wildlife and I wanted to show this aspect of my country, through my artworks,” Sachak shares. She has also experimented with Tingatinga art, which is very popular in Tanzania. Tingatinga art uses saturated and is aimed at a tourist-oriented market. Tingatinga artworks by Sachak are also on display at India Art Festival.