PLAYFUL ARTICULATION OF STROKES: One of the works by Raju Durshettiwar
The works by Raju Durshettiwar on display at Sunny Sistems have an architectonic feel about them
Abstract art premised on non-figuration makes its impact through elements such as line, colour, tone, value and texture manipulated by the artist. A show of abstraction by the Cholamandal artist Raju Durshettiwar, exhibited at Sunny Sistems, conveys an architectonic feel.
Having learnt art in Nagpur, Raju settled in Chennai almost 18 years ago and was totally captivated by the visual forms of the metro’s architecture. According to him, “In my works, there are several registered impressions, especially of Madras and the Madras Art Movement.”
Inspired by Indian modern abstractionists such as V.S. Gaitonde, Prabhakar Kolte and Ambadas, his abstracts are built up through the process of layering, with the forms dissolving in shades and tones he constructs thoughtfully.
In the present show, the colours come through powerfully. Engaging with one main colour and exploring its shades through subtle nuances, he creates forms and shapes that give the work an architectonic character. He journeys his brush in silent conversation, a process which is vital for him to develop his content. His predilection from his student days has been towards abstraction, a visual language he has slowly yet masterfully explored to express his emotions, feelings and sentiments.
Raju manipulates a palette knife to create the finest of lines or brick-like slashes and blend them masterfully with all his other strokes. The facility with which some of his feathery strokes fly not only speaks for his mastery over his tool but also the cleverness of his engagement with colours. This results in a rich texture which is tactile enough to invite the spectator to take a closer look, thus provoking a conversation with his canvases.
In his aesthetics, Raju has placed the city and its architectural forms at the centre, making the reading of his abstractions not as pure formalism in the ideological tradition of Clement Greenberg but with post-modern sensibility that opens space to contextualise it within his cultural milieu. It is this approach that contemporises his abstracts as was also the case with the abstractionists of the Madras Art Movement such as Achuthan Kudallur, P. Gopinath, Haridasan and Palaniappan.
Raju’s abstracts makes an impact not only by the rich resonance of colours which he thought-provokingly explores in each canvas but also by his playful articulation of strokes through which he controls an enigmatic ambience that is at the same time magical and serene.
The exhibition is on till November 20 at Sunny Sistems, New No. 58, Second Main Road, Gandhinagar.