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Journalism of Courage
Maya Burman’s paintings look like a dream sequence from a movie. Amid a garden of bright flowers and plants, too big to be real, figures float in and out of her vivid imagination onto the canvas. For instance, in the series “Picnic By The Lake”, these figures, often in an assortment of vibrant coloured clothes, sail on large paper boats — not necessarily through a waterbody — on top of which are perched giant birds. In another, crimson fish fly through a clear sky while beings created by her reach out to catch them.
But conjuring a fantasy land was never Maya’s intention. “I have a few favourite themes that I like in my paintings. These include large paper boats and the fish that I dig out of my memory, but otherwise I let the works take shape on their own. Other than the basic idea, the layout of the work is not predetermined,” she explains. The exhibition at Art Musings gallery, is then aptly titled “Rhapsody”, which just like music, has art that is free flowing, without boundaries.
Coming from a family of eminent artists — daughter of Indian contemporary artist Sakti Burman (known for his work based on Indian mythology) and French painter Maite Delteil (famous for her simplistic landscapes) and sister-in-law to artist Paresh Maity — Burman has cultivated a style of her own which reminds one of the French Art Nouveau movement. Meaning “new art”, this philosophy developed as a response to the academic practices in art that were prevalent in the 19th century and urged the painter to go back to nature and explore natural forms for inspiration. Developing this style was perhaps easy for Burman, who trained as an architect. For instance, in the series “Summer of Dreams”, she takes her characters to a heaven-like wonderland where one can see the influences of her academic background through the perfect arches and columns in the background.
But even though the French Art Nouveau has been a significant influence, Maya refuses to conform to one style alone. “Art nouveau and European middle age art inspires me, of course, but so do children book illustrations, Indian miniatures, renaissance painting and comics. If you’re an artist you cannot stick to one classical form of painting,” she says.
This is Maya’s third solo exhibition in the country and will continue till July 20.
amruta.lakhe@expressindia.com
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