Gulaal : colors as personal expression

” Color directly influences the soul . Color is the keyboard , the eyes are the hammers , the soul is the piano with many strings . The artist is the hand that plays , touching one key or another purposively to cause vibrations in the soul . ” –Wassily Kandinsky

The above mentioned quote perhaps , is the best possible definition of the latest art exhibition  Gulaal by COG INDIA ART FOUNDATION held at the BIRLA ACADEMY OF ART AND CULTURE from 7th to 10th April , 2022 . This grand celebration of colors disguised as an exhibition presented a bunch of colorful expressions with 583 artworks by 252 participating artists . The viewers got to witness 368 photographs , 215 paintings and digital art and 11 craft stores along with workshops of ALPONA AND MADHUBANI PAINTING conducted by  SRI BIDHAN BISWAS and SMT. MAHANAMA DEVI and MR. RANJIT PASWAN on 8^th and 9^th April respectively . This wasn’t a mere color show , but an insight of the subjectiveness of color embroidered in the minds of each participating artist .

Though the directors and founders of COG INDIA ART FOUNDATION , Saikat Mondal and Ankita Roy  from their very first exhibition have promised to promote contemporary art and artists  but , with this initiative they have particularly put an emphasis on the infinity of colors , not only through art as a conception but also by including the works of international artists on display . Saikat Mondal had clearly stated -” colors are means of personal expressions ” and his paintings and photographs testify his words as each artwork of his narrate vivid emotions .

One of the notable international participating artist , Mh Khokon takes us on a tour with his intense paintings giving a clear message – ” the more you look into nature the more you will see colors and infinite colors ” . One of his paintings – Baishakh ‘ colors of festival @ Bangladesh ‘ sings the song of a wide and vibrant range of colors and deserves a very special mention due to the heart warming message it conveys ; the power that color of a festival has which unites all religions .

When the universality of color is taken into consideration , one can never separate spirituality from it . The  artist who believed and celebrated the spiritual aspect of color and it’s connection to God is Chandrani Das . Through the aggressive yet rhythmic brush strokes , particularly used in rendering Shyamraang , she assured us of her inner expressions .

Subhadeep Konui with his paintings of Lord Ganesha and Goddess Kali had an almost similar approach but the styles varied . He inclines more towards the search of colors within God . Yogan by Chandreyee Roy however , served us a an amalgamation born out of inspiration  from the styles of Patachitra , Ramananda Bandhopadhyay , Krishnendu Roy and Jamini Roy along with colors associated with different aspects of life .

“Lend your ears to music , open your eyes to painting , and stop thinking ! Just ask yourself whether the work has enabled you to ‘walk about’ into a hitherto unknown world . If the answer is yes , what more do you want ? ”

This precious words by Kandinsky honored me with their gracious presence when my eyes were traveling  through the contours of resin artworks – an Arka Bose creation . The abstract fluidity and vivid qualities of each color seen in his paintings are one of a kind .

Anamika Samanta however , surprises me with the creation of GULAAL ; her painting which is completely in contrast to her craft making skills . Fridge magnets , coasters , and other beautiful crafts which she creates has a decorative yet subtle color palette to them , but her painting is a playful combination of colors , textures along with emotional expressions .

Rajanya’s crafts are something to watch and relish . Be it the resin hair clips , or resin flower pendants or her representation of STARRY NIGHT in a pendant , everything seems to have a soft and dreamy ambience locked up within them .

Another form of dreamy flowers can be seen in Tapoja Majumdar ‘s Colors of life . Her set of pastel flowers had bright and smooth colors , or more profoundly inner colors .

Soft Pastels were put into their best use when Arindam Mazumder with his skills presented LOAD SHEDDING . This painting is a narrative of childhood memory , when load shedding used to bring colors of togetherness , the joy of family time . The yellow light which is softly applied on the skin of the figures present in the painting perhaps marks the symbolic representation of the past .

Sohan Sengupta has chosen to depict color as transparent Staining . His watercolors had transparent yet raw form of colors , like purple , bright green , ultramarine blue . His GREEN VILLAGE is  nature inspired yet the colors narrate his inner song .

STARE , the painting by Kushan Roy almost commands the viewer to take a moment and stare at it , and appreciate the artist for his skills which makes the old man pierce and peep into our soul when we look at him . Kushan says that color for him is black , supported by the belief a  black has all the colors absorbed in itself . 

Ipshita compels us to look at  nature to get references of colors in her landscape painting to the contrast of which her figure studies come shouting with the monochromatic pleasure they intend to offer ; an emanation born out of love for metal point drawings .