Pops Art

As a concept,painting on the iPad has been popular abroad for some time,but never quite caught on in India,until now. The first exhibition of its kind,‘iPops: A Preview’ showcases a collection of 28 works by leading adman K.V. Sridhar,all of which have been done on the iPad and then printed on archival canvas using archival inks.The exhibition is being held at Scarecrow Gallery in Mumbai.

Affectionately referred to as Pops,Sridhar is the national creative director of Leo Burnett. His interest in art,however,goes back to the time when he was merely three years old. But until a career in advertising took precedence some 30 years ago,he painted and displayed these works in solo and group shows. This show,therefore,has been a back to the beginning sort of project for him,Niyatee Shinde,the curator of the exhibition,tells us. Like in his earlier paintings,the subjects of these are also primarily women,and specifically rural women.

Could painting on the iPad,be different from the real thing. “From a few feet away,these prints look like canvas paintings using brushes and ink,” says Shinde. There are definite advantages to this method,too,she believes. “It gives you a lot of flexibility. You can paint wherever you are — on a train,plane,outside on the street or anywhere else,and the iPad is so easy to carry around too.” A stylus,a couple of brushes specially designed for use on the iPad,and,of course,an iPad are all the implements Sridhar used to create this body of work.

Following the exhibition,Sridhar will hold a workshop for aspiring iPad artists on June 30. Applicants are required to send in three to five samples of their artwork by June 25,after which,25 candidates will be invited to attend the workshop.

For more details,refer to ipops.in.