“Drawing is the soul of painting.”
PR Narvekar
Shadows both literally
and metaphorically have been an integral part of the life of Indian artist PR
Narvekar. For a third of his life Narvekar’s desire to be a painter was
over shadowed by the harsh realities of life. As he told the Economic
Times’ Ashoke Nag, “I married in 1978, three years after
graduating from JJ School Art, and had three children. For a long time, it was
impossible to paint. I couldn't afford it. I turned to freelance textile
designing and commercial art for advertising agencies. Necessity and
responsibility teaches one to earn money.”
Once his daughters were safely married Narvekar
was able to dust off his dormant desire, acquire a studio and along with a
successful exhibition he was encouraged to pursue his dream. As he has said “My
first show opened in 1997 at the Oberoi hotel in Mumbai. I was doing
watercolour landscapes and Rajasthani style paintings at that time. All my
paintings at Oberoi were sold out. Then, in 2001, I developed the style that
has continued till today.”
Three years in the development,
Narvekar’s elongated figures painted with a monochromatic palette and involved
in narratives of the everyday become his signature style, a style that has
caught the eye of the art world.
As Professor
Sarvapriya Walia wrote in the Contemporary
Monograph series dedicated to Narvekar “The expressions are based on extreme simplicity, but beyond the
easy-flowing lines - thick or thin, straight or curved, continuous or broken -
there is the uncomplicated rhythm of everyday routine. A remarkable aesthetic
sense seeks out beauty in postures and actions without which life is
incomplete. If one were to capture the true spirit of Narvekar's paintings,
three words suffice: form, lines and rhythm.”
And when
asked where the inspiration for his works came from, Narvekar replied, “Shadows.
They are always elongated. This form appealed to me.”
Narvekar’s current exhibition In the Hues of Life is on show at Kolkata’s
Aakriti Art Gallery until the
30th of May.
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