Polished world

So while he chose not to be a part of the conventional rat race and never went to college,Kate has till date produced over 400 paintings,all done in shoe polish. Talking about his work and how he got inspired into it,he says,” When I was 18,I had decided that I wanted to paint,but at the same time I didn’t want to follow a conventional path. Painting using shoe polishes was only something that I chanced upon,and I am glad I could take it forward.” Kate in fact put up his first exhibiton at the Pune festival in the year 2004. ” I remember that I had displayed five of my paintings,of which one was sold,which was a great start for me. It was a nice feeling to know that someone wanted to buy your creation,” he shares.

As unique as this kind of art may sound,Kate has been at it with a lot of dedication. He says,”I do not know how to put it,but I see myself has basically painting abstract art. My work is based on surrealism.” While most artists use brushes to paint,Kate has been using a wide variety of objects,right from fingers to polish brushes,to leaves. Citing how the technique works he says,” I have always wanted to be true to the technique so I mostly use shoe polish brushes. Although I do use a lot of other material to express myself in the best possible way. And it only helps me get more idea as I work on various paintings at the same time.”

So where does he derive his inspiration from? ” My favorite painting is titled ‘The Intellectual Tortoise’,which is inspired from a U2 song. Most of my paintings are inspired from music. I think music in itself has many textures,that can be explored by the visual art forms,” he says. Interstingly Kate spent years trying to make new colours out of the basic shoe polish colours. Explaining his medium he says,” Apart from the browns,blacks and burgundy,I now paint in colours like orange and pink,which I had to work hard to create.”

(Kate’s on -going exhibition,Viva la shoe polish ,is on display at Bohemian ,Club Oasis,NDA Road,from July 30 – August 30)