Rahul Chauhan
Hidden Depths in Tranquility
Oil on Canvas
60 x 60 in
2017
I am interested to research on the oral traditions of the universal concept of Rumi, Kabir manifested in song and poetry and the literary texts of Premchand, etc. conceptualized into a visual medium incorporating a creative ‘energy’ leaning toward universal ideas developing in my unique a style and interpretations.
My work is inspired by various reflections and influences. The present day scenario, illustrates a rapid globalization, with millions of networks interlinking every nook and corner of our world, through media, missiles and influences from our degenerating lifestyle. With the state of affairs as such, there is natural leaning towards a more positive simple approach to life. As a result, certain expanses of the human mind accumulates diverse ideas which also assimilate things from our past and what we admire. In my work, I attempt to create beyond the confines of a canvas. Instead an attempt to encompass the universal or the omnipresent by an ethereal, enigmatic painting on the two-dimensional flat surface.
Done in oils on canvas and figurative, my paintings are a cultural experiment, which attempt to eternalize certain concepts and ideals, narrated in the history of the region. My travels are a search involving various anecdotes and experiences, and in process result in an interest to explore these narrations through the visual medium. I would call them ‘cultural impacts’, a constant reaffirming or bridging of notions from the past and present. Looking back, the present appears as a transitory phase in the wide expanse of histories and cultures. I relate my process to my own identity. The confusions/ assimilations between my local tradition, personal history and the globalized and the universal.
The images in my paintings are mainly animals and nature. But what I am interested in is an ambiguousness, of the simple forms. To elaborate further, it is the symbolism denoted, either mythical, natural or conceived in relation to the various forms and background in my paintings. It is the adaption of the surreal, resulting in the search for the sublime.
My palette usually consists of a diverse range of bright colours which help to negotiate the intensity or gravity of our times by its celebration. The surreal, allegoric narrations in my paintings are interactions with various new spaces which have broadened my vision. With each new work I aim to develop a richer aesthetic which includes various philosophies and ideas I constantly encounter.
Courtesy of Roy Thomas
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