Witness the ‘Abstract Aesthetic’ of eight reputed Indian artists in this Ahmedabad show

After the success of ‘The Art of Storytelling’ exhibition, Mumbai’s Tao Art Gallery and Ahmedabad’s 079 Stories join hands again to create the spectacular group exhibition ‘The Abstract Aesthetic’. The show hosts eight reputed abstract artists, including Padma Shri Paresh Maity and Bharat Nirman Award recipient Brinda Miller. Drop by before January 31.

Tao Art Gallery’s last show in Ahmedabad, that opened on October 23, 2018, The Art of Storytelling presented several contemporary paintings by emerging as well as recognised artists and was highly admired by the viewership here. The show also attracted good interest from collectors and many artworks including the majestic Salt March by Padma Shri Paresh Maity found buyers. This is a testimony to the positive response the show and the new gallery has got. This time, as well, at the second exhibition organised by Tao Art Gallery at 079 Stories, an artwork called Light Through the River by Maity bestows onlookers with awe as soon as they enter the art gallery. Based on the theme of Varanasi, the large 6×6 feet dark-toned oil-on-canvas drifts audiences off onto a promising spiritual trip.

“If you go deeper into a multi-layered abstract art form, you’ll see forms, hues, complexity and even shapes as per your power of interpretation as a viewer,” says Sanjana Shah, the polite curator of The Abstract Aesthetic group art show. The young heir of Mumbai’s Tao Art Gallery was present during the faintly chilly dusky hours of January 8 to launch her second curated art exhibition, in alliance with Purva Damani, founder of 079 Stories, the new cultural hub of Ahmedabad. The group show features 29 abstract artworks made by eight noted Indian artists and is an effort by these art proponents to bring the art of abstract aesthetics to Amdavadi art-lovers.

Sanjana, along with her mother Kalpana Shah, who is the founder of Tao Art Gallery, ideated how to arrange each artwork on the whitewashed walls of 079 Stories. The fluid and meditative paintings of Ravi Mandlik, a Gold Medallist of JJ School of Fine Arts, which somehow depict movement even in stillness, have been placed precisely opposite the boisterous and somewhat rebellious paintings of late Vijay Shinde. Shinde’s existential works, which are also currently on display at The Tao Art Gallery in a solo show, appear as an outcry and are anything but peaceful. Anwar’s philosophical artworks influenced by Sufism and spirituality are purposefully juxtaposed with the symmetrical and geometrically sound paintings of Bharat Nirman Award recipient Brinda Miller. Kalpana Shah, who is also an artist, depicts weaved lines in the form of linear structures painted in calm shades, using acrylic on canvas. A delightful view seems to be camouflaged within her painting’s abstract forms.

Though there may be times when the audience gets so engrossed in the surreal artworks that they lose track of the differences between the paintings by the various artists, the distinct language of each artist helps differentiate one from another. The simple strokes made using acrylic and ink on canvas by Yusuf, an award winning artist, have their own distinct style, for example. His composition consists of volumes of colour and stroke play divided by distinct separating lines. When one looks at the minimally coloured works in mixed media created by emerging artist Nahid Merchant on arches paper, it is tough to interpret if they flow from the top to the bottom or from the bottom upwards. And that is the beauty of abstract art – that as the artist draws thoughts instead of realistic subjects, the spectator has the freedom to interpret these works based on his/her perspective and mood.

The abstract artworks at this show are mostly priced between the range of Rs 2 lakh to Rs 15 lakh, all except for Maity’s paintings, price of which is available to collectors on request. The exhibit will remain open for all until January 31, 2019, every day from 11 am to 7 pm (except Sundays). Experience this magnificent uproar of abstracts at 079 Stories, Ahmedabad.