Venue: Darpan Art Gallery, Kala Chhaya Campus, Patrakar Nagar Lane, Opp. Vikhe Patil High School, Off Senapati Bapat Road
Date & Time: 8th to 14th Feb. ‘12, 11am-8pm
Time and again have we seen landscape after landscape being brought to life by the most fluid medium of the watercolor. But, Toronto based artist Swapnali Thakar has stepped out of the box and used this medium in a way that’s much different from what we have been seeing. In an exhibition titled ‘Beyond Salt’ at Darpan Art Gallery here in Pune, Swapnali promises to take her viewers on a journey that will allow them to see multiple layers of this medium. Scheduled to be on display from 8th to 14th February, this exhibition would also have the artist painting a dancer live in the gallery on the 9th of February from 6-7pm.
“I have always been fascinated by watercolours” says artist Swapnali. “In Beyond Salt, I have tried to use this medium in ways that are beyond the traditional techniques and I have tried to go a few steps beyond using just salt and have experimented with other things in these paintings.” she says. Swapnali though also gives food for thought when she says that another way of interpreting the title of her exhibition would be metaphorical. According to her, all the figures that she has painted is nothing but basically salt for that is the prime component of every living body. And hence the name, ‘Beyond Salt’.
Swapnali Thakar also sees a deep bond between her art and music. The artist who always paints with music playing in the background believes that the visual art is actually music that you ‘listen’ with your eyes. On February 9th, Swapnali will be painting contemporary dancer Hrishikesh Pawar live in Darpan Art Gallery. She hopes to get the paint him as he dances, capturing both the grace of his dance and the rhythm of the music on her canvas. Such a direct relation between music and painting will be surely interesting to watch.
Bringing the exhibition on a grant from Ontario Arts Council to her hometown Pune, the artist hopes to share her work with her friends and family. “I hope to give the audience a different take on the use of watercolours and hope to take them through a new perspective on the use of this medium.” says the artist. With art, music and dance all coming together with the fluidity that watercolours bring on the canvas; this exhibition is surely one to watch out for.
