Aesthetic, technical depiction of life

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Rajesh Bhowmik is perplexed at the low turnout of the city’s Fine Arts students at his ongoing exhibition of paintings in Vyloppilli Samskrithi Bhavan. He is convinced that there is “some cultural crisis in Kerala”.  “In Tripura, if there is an exhibition taking place, you will see students of Fine Arts thronging the place. They would stick around the venue throughout the day, and grab opportunities to discuss art with the visiting critics and artists. I am really surprised to find so few of Kerala’s art students dropping in through the last five days,” chuckles the painter from the North East state of Tripura.    Bhowmik, who believes that an artist is not bound by geographical boundaries, has so far held 22 solo exhibitions in different parts of the country. “The last show was in Shillong and it has been an incredibly beautiful journey from the mountains to the seaside city of Thiruvananthapuram. I was very keen on coming to Kerala because I have seen your traditional arts like Kathakali and Mohiniyattam and have found them really amazing,’’ he says.   An assistant professor in the Tripura Central University’s Department of Fine Arts and Painting, Bhowmik’s creations are marked by a conscious blending of the aesthetic and the technical. Two life-size oil paintings at the two ends of the gallery combine eloquent motifs and subdued colours that proclaim the essence of his focal theme, ‘Purush, Prakriti aur Prem’. The artist has also showcased expressions of the concept on canvas one-third the size of the large paintings and on tiny six-by-six inch frames done in acrylic.   The accent on brown, muted red and yellow gives a deliberate undertone to the paintings. The element of lust, unrestrained passion and the grim reality of poverty that can blur the thin border between sexual indulgence and prostitution are conveyed through a combination of shades foregrounded on brown. “There is a world of difference between black and brown. Brown is that margin to which life clings on in the struggle to escape the awaiting blackness,” says Bhowmik.   He had conducted a lecture demonstration on the folk traditions of Tripura at the Thiruvananthapuram Fine Arts College last week. He intends to visit as many places of cultural significance as possible before the exhibition concludes on Tuesday. He has visited the Napier Museum and intends to call on sculptor Kanayi Kunhiraman at his studio. “Is there some dance recital I can go to before I leave the city? I would like to see an authentic Kathakali or dance performance,” he asks.