Face value

Faces, a show hosted by the owner of Tao Art Gallery, Kalpana Shah, brings 25 renowned artists of India together with their interesting portraits. The exhibition, scheduled at the Worli gallery from October 16 to 22, features the works of Akbar Padamsee, Jagdish Chander, Debraj Goswami, Paresh Maiti, Manu Parekh and Venkatesh Pate among others.

8220;No painting of a head by me will resemble my earlier ones. This is because I don8217;t start with heads, I just start with lines. While crisscrossing lines with a brush or pencil, a head emerges from a matrix of strokes,8221; says Padamsee, who has executed many portraits that often have an air of saintly or other-worldliness to them. 8220;I never try to put an expression on the face. It comes from its own accord,8221; he says.

Pate has a photo-realistic approach to his portraiture. And the resemblance to famous figures like pop star Madonna and Nelson Mandela are totally intended. 8220;I wanted to make my own photo album. The work is in progress. Normally, we make family portraits. But I am interested in people who built their life from scratch,8221; says the artist, who works mainly with graphite on paper.

For Jagdish Chander, mankind is at the centre of the universe. 8220;My concerns are over showing pure emotions. The best vehicle to convey this is the human face,8221; says the Sanskriti Award winner.

Powerful strokes help Parekh depict a different human face as he attempts to capture the brutality of the Bhagalpur blindings. Goswami brings a sense of enigma to his portraits as he often quotes the images of artists like Michelangelo and Picasso, apart from inserting his self portrait.