Colours of Abstraction

Four months after wrapping up the Biennale in Kochi,Bose Krishnamachari returns to Mumbai with his first solo in the city in three years

Aside from a handful of brightly coloured,mostly circular framed paintings on the front and left walls,the ground floor of Gallery 7 in Kala Ghoda is also temporarily home to a tiny,equally vividly hued chair,fit perhaps for an eight-year-old. That the abstract art on this chair is in the same style which adorns the walls indicates it isnt a simple piece of furniture in the gallery. The chair,in fact,is also part of the ongoing exhibition at the establishment,titled Maximum Bose. A solo by Kerala-born,Mumbai-based artist Bose Krishnamachari,it is his first in the city in three years and will be on till August 10.

The work was made keeping this show in mind,which includes the artists Stretched Bodies series,one that has now been in progress for many years. I had a look at the gallery space in order to decide how many artwork to come up with, says Krishnamachari. These walls have texture so I thought the paintings with circular frames will look nice, he says. The primary and most noticeable characteristics of this series are a flamboyant use of vivid colours of close to 40 different shades and the linear form.

For matters of convenience,Krishnamachari classifies his abstract paintings as minimalist and maximum,with this series falling in the latter category. He first began to experiment with this form while studying at Goldsmiths College in London,he says,having been advised to do so by a tutor. We could invite a guest lecturer,and I invited Craig Martin (formerly the Dean of Goldsmiths College,a mentor for young artists and an artist himself), he says. He told me that my work has a lot of colour and the basics of abstraction,and suggested that I get into maximum abstract painting.

Initially recognised for his paintings in the 90s,Krishnamachari,a graduate from the J J School of Art,started doing installations too,and eventually progressed to sculpture,design,architecture and curating. Through all of this,his one constant inspiration has been the city of Mumbai. While walking from J J towards Jehangir Art Gallery,I would see people selling thousands of books on the streets, he recounts. It stayed with me and I did a series of work,mummifying books through paintings. For the series,he would first burn the books and then paint on them.

Besides art,Krishnamacharis recent curatorial venture was the first edition of the Kochi Muziris Biennale,held from December last year to March this year. President and Artistic Director of the event,he believes it serves as a welcome addition to the countrys cultural calendar and is already working on the next edition. In the meantime,he is also focusing on finishing work in his home in Aluva,Kerala. The project was initially started as a museum,but he has now dropped that idea and wants it to serve as a residency. It will be for all creative people including theatre artistes and writers, he says.

zaira.arslan@expressindia.com

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