National 7 (Spotlight Weekly)

Raining Talents

Artists capture the monsoon mood in their paintings

By BINITA PANDEY

Just as the country is passing through the middle of this year's monsoon season, artists' have soaked their imagination along with the heavy downpour.

Renowned modern artists like Kiran Manandhar, Shashi Shah, Ragini Upadhaya -Grela, Uttam Nepali, Batsa Gopal Vaidya and Shashi Kala Tiwari came together to jointly stage an art exhibition titled "The Monsoon Moods", on the auspicious occasion of the 57th birthday of King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev at Siddhartha Art gallery.

The exhibition included 31 paintings by different artists. The exhibition was opened on July 10 and will continue till August 15. Each of the painters has between four to seven paintings on display. These pieces are for sell and their costs range between Rs. 12,000 — 150,000.

Kiran Manandhar is known for his modern and abstract versions. His paintings despite their entire post modernist spontaneity are close to the culture, icon and images of Nepal.

Shashikala Tiwari is a well-known name in the field of contemporary art in Nepal and she is also an accomplished poetess. Shashi is constantly seeking her inspiration from nature. Her paintings include the pictures of mountains, streams, trees, birds, leaves and flowers.

Ragini Upadhyaya-Grela is another established artist whose creations are focused on feminism. She actively took part in the twins endeavor to promote the importance of culture and religious tolerance as well as, more importantly, to appeal for peace through the media of art. She has taken on a cultural theme by portraying various forms of the Bamiyan Buddha that was demolished two years back by the fundamentalist Taliban regime in Afghanistan. This series of paintings had been inspired by the teaching and philosophy of lord Buddha. They reveal a yearning for peace and compassion that is of greatest relevance nationally and internationally.

Batsa Gopal Vaidya's main concern is the preservation of heritage amid a rapidly changing urban setting. His paintings capture his immediate surroundings, culture. Heritage dominates his paintings. His oil paintings have a pleasing graphic and impression. Each painting is a dream landscape shimmering out of the artists' own window. A magical ambience is created with recurring motifs, mountains, thick clouds and temples. This aspect of his art makes him an artist whose imagination is deeply rooted to his soil.

Horses, as usual, are the overriding theme in Shashi Shah's creations. His work is an exploration of apocalyptic destruction, sometimes the horse image out of the sun, their flanks protruding from the fatness of the cavern as they gallop across time on his mission to save the world. Sometimes they are locked in battle symbolizing the battle between good and evil.

Human countenance forms the basis of Uttam Nepali's works. Nepali is a poet, writer and senior artist of the contemporary art scene in Nepal.