Nabibakhsh Mansoori Wins Hearts with Brush Strokes at Amdavad ni Gufa

The life-sized solo exhibition codes ‘hidden messages’, replete with energy, colours and motifs from the artist’s creative life painted onto ceramic plates.

“It’s like a family coming together to celebrate art as an occasion, it’s not just as an exhibition,” said a spectator at the Amdavad ni Gufa during the inauguration of the life-sized solo painting exhibition of artist Nabibakhsh Mansoori. The exhibition was more like walking down a memory lane of dreams because every painting carried in it a kind of nostalgia, and this is what artist Mansoori plays with. “My constant urge to experiment with mediums has this time been sufficed by using porcelain paints on ceramic plates,” said the artist, as he went on to explain what inspired him to choose a medium for creating his masterpiece.

The vibrant colours used in each painting shows how Mansoori wants to pursue life within each moment. Hailing from a small village called Oda in Idar, which is a hilly terrain in Gujarat, Mansoori had always been intrigued in his childhood by a temple flag which was visible from his window at home. And in one of his ceramic paintings, he recollects that element and imitates that flag in the most creative ways possible. “My paintings contain hidden messages in them and one has to literally get involved with them at ease to actually find them out“.

There is always a hidden journey behind every creation. But the goliath painting of Mansoori would have had a superlative journey behind its formation. From January 24, 2017, to January 30, 2017, the walls of Amdavad ni Gufa will be occupied by a 6’5″ x 16′ glorious painting, which is like emotions disgorged and conveyed through the medium of oil paints. Monkeys, bicycles, a half-bitten apple, the temple flag, mountains, peacock feathers – everything that has been a part of him has become a part of his aesthetics in this painting. While observing it, art collector and curator Anil Relia said, “Mansoori has always imagined gigantically, and even this time he doesn’t disappoint us.”

Every painting should have an exceptional quality of luring its viewer in a unique way. One of the toughest jobs for a painter is to develop a relationship between the viewer and their creation, and this skill has been mastered with time by Mansoori. The paintings look even more realistic, while being vibrant and abstract, when the created characters make eye contact with the audience. The imagination of them literally makes them emerge out of the paintings, leaving an impression on the viewer.

During the inauguration ceremony, a small video was arranged to give the audience a ‘behind the curtain experience’. Mansoori’s creative journey, crystallizing experiences that have defined him as an artist, was shown in the most original manner within this short 10 minute byte.

The exhibition will be open from 04:00 PM to 08:00 PM for spectators till January 30 and every city dweller should go once to feel more lively and energetic, artistically.