Veteran Artist Atul Dodiya’s Lecture Awes Art Lovers of City

While I was still thanking my uber driver for dropping me at the venue on time, I could hear anticipated students chit-chatting about how excited they are to meet an artist who has been honoured with accolades like the Raza Award, Sotheby’s Prize and the Sanskriti Award. Atul Dodiya a Mumbaikar, who completed his formal education in arts from Sir JJ School of Arts and Ecole des Beaux-Arts was invited by Sheth CN College of Fine Arts to share his journey and inspire the novice minds, who are still exploring their niche in the field of aesthetics.

Organized at the Sheth CN College of Fine Arts on the morning of August 1, 2018, the yearly art-talk show began with an excellent musical performance and poetry by the students of CN Fine Arts. The event was a delightful opportunity for each student to learn and to get inspired for painting more beautifully. The session was attended by almost all the renowned personalities from the art fraternity including virtuos like Vrindavan Solanki, Sharmila Sagara, CD Mistry, and Dodiya’s friend and host in Ahmedabad, veteran artist Amit Ambalal. The program showcased a 55-minute long documentary produced by DoorDarshan on the life and artworks of Atul Dodiya and explained extensively artist’s perspectives and inspirations behind his various celebrated artworks. Dodiya is currently engaged on a French project wherein he is water colouring and writing texts in Gujarati for an academic organisation.

When Dodiya was asked about his core stimulus behind all the painting subjects, he shared “Art is freedom of expression, and my artistry subjects are usually inspired from real life situations. My picture, wherein I have drawn Goddess Laxmi’s portrait juxtaposed on a foldable shop shutter showcases how we damage our own Laxmi, our daughters by pulling them in the filth of dowry. My paintings on rolling shutters create traction on the artworks, but develops an experience and interaction for the viewer.” The classrooms were well decorated with paintings, sketches and drawings, made by students dedicating their honour to the expert artist and there was a special show organised, showcasing artworks by various artists of Sheth CN College of Fine Arts at the CN Art Gallery.

Picture Courtesy: Rahul Gosai & Ravi Makwana