From creation to dissolution

NT Features

Kalpa, an exhibition curated by ArtenBlu, is bringing artworks of extremely talented artists to art patrons. The selection is of works by artists Bodhi Selvam and A Mathew Raj with the central theme of Kalpa -- duration of time covering a complete cosmic cycle from the creation to the dissolution of a world system.

Bodhi Selvam “Zen is not something that can be understood at the surface level; it’s something that needs to be experienced and that has become a part of me,’’ says Bodhi Selvam. The 52-year-old artist, with shrubby beard glistening in black and eyes radiating undying dreams, speaks in a voice that has echoes of Zen sages. He says, “I have been greatly influenced to a great extent by Zen ideology and I have incorporated it into my life. It has greatly guided my work and is largely visible in my style of work.’’

While there are several schools of thought in painting such as expressionism, impressionism, post-modernism etc., he has belonged to none of them; rather he has plumbed for the esoteric and awesome Zen school of spiritualism; a seemingly unlikely plan for painting. Maybe, from the very beginning, he has been a spiritualist and later, chose the palette to give expression to his thoughts mellowed in meditations.

“Zen is not something that can be understood at the surface level; it’s something that needs to be experienced and that has become a part of me,’’ he says. His childhood spent among the still winds, meditating mountain ranges and chirping birds in his native village, Vadapathi, has had an impact on his art. He admits that he has been bringing his lonely teen life teeming with thoughts to bear on his paintings that have a melancholy streak.

“Way back in 1994, I attained clarity through deep meditation and from then on, it has helped me gain greater clarity and inner happiness. For the past three decades, I have been following the path of Zen and it’s that guiding force that is reflective in all my endeavours. My life is filled with art and meditation’’, he says. Bodhi Selvam has constantly been working on various series that have a strong underlying tonee of Buddha and Zen.

A painter with no formal education, Bodhi Selvam calls Sambodhi, the fruit of his most recent journey into the Zen way of life. He has constantly been working on various series that have a strong underlying tone of Buddha and Zen throughout. For the artist Buddha and Lao Tzu have been a strong influence. In several ways their sutras have guided his journey of exploration and selfrealisation.

Mathew Raj
Mathew Raj is an artist and a printmaker from Gokarna, western Karnataka. He is a Bachelor of Fine Arts Printmaking (Graphic Arts) 1999 - 2003 from the Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai. The beautiful coastal town at Arabian Sea amidst Western Ghats, with river Gangavali to the north, and Aganasani River in the south is where the artist has found his expression. He is currently working on a collection called Life, which has two elements -- lines and dots. Dots by itself are a primitive beginner for any form of art. The artist uses a pendulum with holes to produce millions of dots. “I as an artist guide the dots, the colours to create the painting. This collection is completely made with lines, and each line consumes one full breath. One inhaling and one exhaling, in a way the whole artwork becomes meditative,” says Mathew. The preferable medium for this collection is pen and pencil. “Forming circular lines, circles or mandalas on the thought of intervals of life I use a wide variety of medium acrylics, charcoals and pencils,” he says.

He has participated in group and solo shows including Pathivugal, 2009 and the Fishes and Arches Group Show, a watercolour painting exhibition in 2016 and Indian Landscapes held at Greenwich, London, United Kingdom which was organised by Tideline Art. The artist also conducts workshops on innovation and meditative art. “Everyone deserves to be an artist,” he says. Mathew conducts meditative art sessions to kindle the inner artistic spirit and assist people to remove their obstacles towards art, to rebuild themselves as artists. This freedom helps ordinary people to start with the same spirit to create an artwork as how the Great Masters did.

Price range: INR 25,000 to INR 200,000

WHERE? Vasantha Art Gallery (VAG), Grand Mercure Bengaluru, Gopalan Mall, Bengaluru

WHEN? May 13 - June 30 / 11 AM – 7 PM