What’s on Chandigarh: An audio-visual presentation by artist Jagannath Panda

Panda uses genuine expression on the canvas that strives to create a dialogue between all classifications of people in the social panorama.

Panda uses genuine expression on the canvas that strives to create a dialogue between all classifications of people in the social panorama. Being identified with a particular style or movement of art is clearly not the motive of the Bhubaneswar-born artist. He juxtaposes elements of technology and mythology, ancient and modern, classic and popular not only through visuals but through a collage of media in his works.

Through glimpses from impressionism alongside traditional forms and well-defined images contrasting with chaotic visuals that swing between contemporary and modern art, in Panda’s paintings one can spot a regal peacock or a grand rhino amid a dead dusty terrain or a Ravana or another mythical character or creature hovering around a glossy high rise. The artist stresses on generating response and discussion to find a middle path without living in extremes. He conveys the reality of the existence of the layers in society without being judgmental, but just as a narrator, an onlooker.

He juxtaposes elements of technology and mythology, ancient and modern, classic and popular not only through visuals but through a collage of media in his works.

Panda is an alumnus of the BK College of Art and Crafts in Bhubaneswar. After completing his master’s from Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, he was a research fellow at Fukuoka University of Education, Japan, in 1997 and then studied fine sculpture at the Royal College of Art, London in 2002. His exposure to distinctive approaches to art around the globe is clearly reflected in his work where he doesn’t limit himself to a painter or a sculptor but metamorphoses well into each and his works are part of several museums and galleries globally.

Panda spends as much time as possible supporting art infrastructure in his home state Odisha. The Utsha Foundation he set up in Bhubaneswar in 2011 has encouraged numerous artists through residencies and art-based events. Through Utsha, Panda, and volunteers comprising art lovers and senior artists come together to explore the creative energy of artists and the common man.

Among his recent engagements in Odisha, Panda even curated massive public art events during the hugely successful Bhubaneswar Art Trail 2018 when the entire historic Old Town area turned into a confluence of ancient and modern art.

When and Where: Auditorium of Government Museum and Art Gallery, Sector-10 C, on February 28 (Tuesday).