Idol worship

For many artists, the Hindu god Krishna serves as a perfect muse. His suave personality, loving nature and enlightening teachings have not only inspired devotees worldwide but has also found them as a subject in paintings. An exhibition titled The Eternal Mesmeriser by Narendar Reddy at Jehangir Art Gallery offers one such peek into the shepherd-god’s relationship with nature.

These 35 paintings of Krishna contain images of him wielding flutes while nature interacts with him. These paintings with a splash of bright colours are filled with flora and fauna, as evidently seen in the painting Mayur where Krishna is caressing the face of a peacock with his fingers. Describing his collection, Narendar says, “It is a mix-media with acrylic on canvas. I like the colours of Krishna, and was inspired by cows, and peacocks. I have tried to portray the rich Indian colours, cultures and themes.”

Narendar has not only exhibited his paintings in several Indian cities but has also held exhibitions worldwide including United States of America, United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, France, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Havana. “I have received a very good response in London and Dallas. The foreigners tend to appreciate the Indian themes, mainly the paintings of Ganesha, Krishna and Buddha,” he shares. All this knowledge of the international art market and his painting capabilities are probably a result of his Masters in Fine Arts from Japan. During the tenure, Narendar had to work part-time to support himself, and one of the earliest jobs was to work in an Indian restaurant. However, it was the working-culture of Japan that influenced him to give his all. “Japanese are very hard working and that is very inspiring. They are quite deservingly the world’s number one country,” he delves.

However, the career highlights for the artist are definitely the times when he was commissioned and invited by the Government of Andhra Pradesh to present portraits to several national and international dignitaries. He has presented portraits to BJP Party President Amit Shah, former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, former President of USA Bill Clinton and former Prime Minister of UK Tony Blair among others. Reminiscing meeting Bill Clinton and presenting him a portrait that also included the flags of India and USA, Narendar shares, “When I met Clinton, I told him ‘ Welcome to the Land of Budhha’ and he laughed. He was very sweet and even congratulated me. I spent 45 minutes with him. That was surreal.”

In addition to exploring the Indian themes and nature in his paintings, Narendar also tries to follow major art movements. Two of his previous exhibitions conducted by High Commission of India in Frankfurt and Munich included surrealist paintings inspired by the Spanish surrealist Salvador Dali. Although for his current exhibition, he was inspired by the 19th-century French art movement Impressionism. He says, “I like Impressionism, since it’s not totally abstract and not totally realism, as seen in the paintings of Monet. The paintings in this collection are semi-abstract and made in Impressionism style.”

The exhibition is ongoing till December 23.