“There may be a lot of similarities in his work with the Modernists but at the same time Gangatharan’s technique is slightly playful and layered in forms and patterns”
Dr Satarupa Bhattacharya
Gangatharan, as an artist has been consistently portraying his immediate surroundings in his elaborate oil on canvas paintings. Born in 1950 and raised in the interior parts of Kerala, his work has a particular flavour of the region which is hard to miss.
Even though one can see a lot of similarities in his work to that of the Modernists, it is important to note that his technique is slightly playful and layered in forms and patterns. Also, Gangatharan engages with generic narrativity in his visual language. He looks at the world from the outside as opposed to looking inwards- this aligns with the outlook of Modernists.
Gangatharan returns to the sights on the Indian streets, where music and religious events play a very vital role in building a sense of camaraderie and connectedness. There are references to how these sights have occupied a foreboding sense of relativity and familiarity. The blurring backgrounds in his works also tend to obscure the exact location of the characters involved in being shown or seen. Bold lines demarcating the presence of these characters also emanate a reverberating energetic visual quality within the canvas to depict the power of that moment being witnessed. These sights carry scenes from a musical gathering or a band. They are, perhaps, also scenes from a nightclub, where musicians get together to entertain their audience or passersby. In any case, we witness a strong image of collaboration and active participation. Another interesting impression arises from the artist’s work: a very special missive on account of the collective and thriving traditionalism merging with the immediate cultural shifts and milieu is also evident in his work.
Most of the facial expressions are dissolved in flesh-toned colours emphasising the absolute immersive quality of music and performance. The presence of various kinds of musical instruments in the hands of their players gives us the impression that these musicians are engaged in the global genres of music. Then again, in certain paintings, we see the band musicians becoming a focus like in the Modernist narratives. Another thematic concern runs through Gangatharan’s art, where we see a bold reflection on the Hindu Gods and Goddesses. His Ganesha emerges out of various colour patterns creating no particular visual shape but, eventually, turning into the form of architecture. Here, it becomes necessary to look at Gangatharan’s training in the temple art form, where his strength lies in creating effects with his colour palettes to feature a prominent geometrical presence in the background which also has a very impressionistic quality. Layered in paint, these backgrounds bring about an interesting effect to the figure staged as the protagonist, such as in the case of Ganesha. His impasto is slightly feathered as it builds an interesting texture of cuts and breaks to add to the image quality.
Interestingly, Gangatharan’s abstracts also bring out his expert art practices, where he lays a special focus on technique and skills. A lot of these canvases focus on breaking out of the bonded structure of figurative art forms and engage the act of distortion faintly. Therefore, a lot of these canvases work to hold images of shapes, patterns, textures and colours. Using a fairly masculine palette with darker shades of blues and greens, these paintings evoke bold sensations and bring out a sharp visual impact.
They build a very special connection with the school of kaleidoscopic abstractions where a dot holds a focal disposition. The dot features like an eye on the painting, waiting patiently for its viewers to find it and tend to its demands. The dot is also an enlarged circle featuring space and centre to the distorted figures surrounding it. Gangatharan’s work dabbles with genres and squabbles with the richness of language and boundaries. A serene quality emerges from his stylistic strokes boldly caressing the form on the canvas while it pins the image to its obscure finality of vision and subliminal forces. The energy we witness in these works gauge with the larger practices of culture and traditions. While the artist engages with both, he does not refrain from bringing out a sharp focus on the immediate. These works, despite their resonance with the modernists, do not hold a responsive account. They are an indulgence of art-making and anything that can be useful to witness Gangatharan’s sights. He recreates and returns to the traditions of the Modernists only to heighten his humble love and belief in his roots, where people connect with one another in the hope of belonging. Gangatharan has earned a diploma in painting from the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Kumbakonam. He currently resides in Coimbatore. A lot of his works are found in prestigious collections around the country.
– Dr Satarupa Bhattacharya
The artist is represented by Easel Stories Art Gallery, Noida
