The JAMAAT Art Gallery Shows A Group Show 'The Feminine Form"

Written by Sanjeev Kumar Tuesday, 07 June 2011 23:51

Mumbai,India - The JAMAAT Art Gallery is proud to present "The Feminine Form", an exhibition of figurative paintings. "The Feminine Form" will be on view at their Mumbai gallery until mid-July. Featured will be works by Ajay De, Gautam Mukherii, Rajesh Srivastava, Samir Mondal, Shankar Kendale, Bharti Prajapati, Raja Segar, Rini Dhumal, Senaka Senanayake and Shiva Sanjari. The 10 artists hail from India, Sri Lanka and Iran and each paints in their own inimitable style.

The feminine form has inspired artists down the ages. She is gentle and strong, coy and bold, pampered and hardworking, compassionate and merciless, quiet and loud, sober and merry, calm and fiery. Ajay De is originally from Kolkatta, but is now based in Mumbai. Ajay has a mastery with charcoals on paper, adding just a hint of acrylic paint. His women are gentle, pensive, with very expressive eyes. Bharti Prajapati is from Ahmedabad and paints highly stylised women, with beautiful textures and bright colours, using oils on canvas. Gautam Makherjii, from Kolkatta, is very grounded in his culture . His Bengali women are evocative of the Badralok with elongated almond eyes, languid movements, stylised clothes and ornaments, an indulgent time. He works with acrylic paint on canvas, Raj Segar from Sri Lanka has a very distinctive “ refractive “ style . The white light fractures into beams of colour. His women are workers, plucking tea, nursing children, feeding birds. The paintings are acrylic paint on canvas. Rajesh Srivastava of New Delhi has a very contemporary style. His exquisite small works have jewel like faces, with very expressive eyes and the body is like a aerial landscape abstract in muted colours. Fabulous compositions using mixed media on board. Rini Dhumal is from Baroda and shows the divine feminine power. Her Devis have the strength, knowledge and wealth of our divinity. She paints on canvas using various mediums like inks, dyes, pastels, acrylic and gold leaf. A rich amalgam giving a great texture and composition.

Samir Mondal is originally from Bengal, but now based in Mumbai. Samir is surely India’s best water colourist, and works on paper only. His colours dance and flow to his command and show the joy of the medium. Contemporary women, bold, strong, beautiful and empowered are Samir’s muses. Senaka Senanayake from Sri Lanka is considered a master in that beautiful island state. His acrylic paints and inks have such fluidity on paper, depicting the dancers in movement. Shankar Kendale is based in Bangalore, and paints using oils on canvas with a palette knife. His texturing and play of light and shadow are beautiful to behold. He depicts rural women, comfortable in their own skins, leading their own lives. Shiva Sanjari is originally from Iran but now married and based in India. Shiva is strongly influenced by the French tradition of using charcoal on paper. Her knowledge of the feminine form shows a Western slant and the sophistication of the European world. Ten different artists, all depicting "The Feminine Form".

The JAMAAT gallery is not just a gallery, it is a "Gathering", like the name says in Urdu It's founder, Pravina Mecklai, wanted it to be more than just a white cube displaying art, instead it aims to be interactive. Where the outside came in and the inside is visible out. A place for exchange of thoughts, ideas and dreams. A place of debate, discussion and solution. A place to come, look at your leisure and enjoy. A place where the door is open to all. The artists shown, have always been those whose works Mecklai admired and come not only from Bombay, but all over the country as well as from neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. the gallery displays a range of art from established artists to those just beginning. Paintings, scultpure and installations all regularly feature within the gallery's walls. They have also hosted plays, music recitals, book launches, held art workshops for kids from Mobile Creche and Akansha and English language classes for the Municipal School kids by the Sujaya Foundation. Pravina's biggest joy is discovering a new artist, exposing their work, guiding them and watching them develop and grow. Visit the galleries website: www.jamaatart.com

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