Art attack! Artist Vijay Shinde exhibits a transcendental journey of abstracts in his ongoing art show

Art attack!

Artist Vijay Shinde exhibits a transcendental journey of abstracts in his ongoing art show

Acclaimed abstract artist Vijay Shinde has been greatly influenced by the late M.F Husain, who he calls his ‘Guru’. Showcasing his current art show Prakruti, Shinde demonstrates on canvas his deep concern for the victims of terrorism, which drives him into a world of chaos. And this chaotic world eventually leads to a time and space dominated by automatism but led by spiritualism. The borders of the creative and the meditative are visible in the paintings. Each of the artworks displayed in this show are depicts — where two canvases are joined together to create a single work. And all his paintings stick to his theme of liberating the soul. “I look for no meaning in my paintings because my paintings depict all that my mind looks for, rendering me speechless,” says Shinde. A graduate from the J.J. School of Art, Mumbai, Shinde has managed to inculcate a fine sense of balance between restraint and freedom, in all of his works — which is somewhere in between formlessness and definition. One sees snatches of images or constructs that are familiar but mired in a haze of colours that ensure that complete and immediate elucidation is impossible. “Art is an endless journey. There are no short cuts. I have blind faith in art and do not expect anything in return. I follow it because I know of no other,” adds the artist. His work hovers between abstraction and definition — its inspiration in his native culture and religion is obvious, but its expression through techniques rips open the work to the imagination and to interpretation. From a visual perspective, his work has boundless energy; there is a veritable implosion of energy as the artist pummels the handmade paper and this energy is obvious in the colours and the formation of the strokes. When and Where: Till August 21, at the Tao Art Gallery, Worli