The genius of a Spaniard: Exhibition showcases Picasso’s works

Picasso the neoclassicist; Picasso the cubist; Picasso the surrealist; Picasso the modernist; Picasso the ceramist; Picasso the lithographer; Picasso the sculptor; Picasso the superb draftsman; Picasso the effervescent and exuberant; Picasso the saturnine and surly; Picasso the faithful and faithless lover; Picasso the cunning financial man; Picasso the publicity seeker; Picasso the smoldering Spaniard; Picasso the joker and performer of charades; Picasso the generous; Picasso the Scrooge.

But if you were me, look for the unknown,the rare and refreshing. The Mother and Child at the Fountain is a sad angst-filled creation done in an expressionist mood. The year 1901 and the color sets it in Picasso’s Blue Period. When Picasso’s close friend Carlos Casagemas committed suicide, Picasso’s trauma found expression in a series of deeply melancholic and sentimental paintings which comprise his Blue Period.

One of his closest friends Sabartés wrote, “Picasso believed Art to [be] the son of Sadness and Suffering…that sadness lent itself to meditation and that suffering was fundamental to life … If we demand sincerity of an artist, we must remember that sincerity is not to be found outside the realm of grief.”

Picasso’s own words ring true. “As I’ve often said, I don’t try to express nature; rather, as the Chinese put it, to work like nature. And I want that internal surge – my creative dynamism – to propose itself to the viewer in the form of traditional painting violated.”

“Whatever the source of the emotion that drives me to create, I want to give it a form that has some connection with the visible world, even if it is only to wage war on that world,” he explained to Francoise Gilot, who was one of his mistresses and herself a painter.

The catalog published and produced by Yale University Press, is remarkable on every level: in the quality and importance of the art, in the intelligence and originality of the epoch of thesis and themes, in the psychological and aesthetic implications of the Picasso story. It balances poignantly the visual and the verbal in artistic cadences rarely seen in an age of excesses.

This sensitively curated show exemplifies the truth that in Picasso there was a hunger for beginnings. A genius for the ages, a man who played wonderful yet sometimes outrageous changes with art, Pablo Picasso remains without doubt the most original, the most protean and the most forceful personality in the visual arts in the first three-quarters of this century. He took a prodigious gift and with it transformed the universe of art. 

This show however, rekindles a sense of awe at what he accomplished by turning a spotlight on a ‘measure of the truly immortal’. No wonder Picasso said: “I do not seek-I find”.

(Picasso in The Metropolitan Museum of Art is on till August 1)

The Surrealist – Sajidul Islam

The “Artist of the Month” feature is truly an exhilarating experience for any artist. Our focus for the month of October 2008 is “Sajidul Islam”, an artist from the picturesque locales of the Diamond Harbor, a suburb in the Ganges. Diamond Harbor has given him a lot; it has nourished his frivolity, eccentricity, endured his intellectual devotion and madness. Saji and his friends had found their favorite hangout, their ‘adda’. It is here that they would discuss topics ranging from sociology, genesis, biobang, relationships, sex, postcolorism, literature, grand narrative, Marks, quantum mechanics, down to their personal angst and crisis. His friends would continuously invade him with questions, sometimes answering them, but most of the while the questions and answers would be concocted to a perfect confusion. Mocking at them and leaving them in virtual nothingness.

This nothingness found inroads on his canvas eventually. In his quest for alternatives, when Saji would lose orientation, suddenly he would see something hazy coming up, shaping, from a surreal world, disguised to us. And here in lies the importance of the beholder. Saji says as a beholder you watch it, independently, think in your own right, discuss in your own way. Thus the creation gets rid of its creator and touches the universal chord!

Critic Comments:

“I have gone through your recent works. Those are mind-blowing, amazing, sensational and marvelous work. Among those works, Down memory lane, Claustrophobia, Phantasmagoria, Diffusion, Life in necropolis, Legacy of civilization, Roots, Agitation, and Metamorphosis attracted me a lot for the innovative composition and imagination.
Vincent van Gogh said: ‘I want to touch people with my art. I want them to say he feels deeply, he feels tenderly’. Your art is touchy and helps me to feel about the surroundings.
Salvador Dali quoted : ‘People love mystery, and that is why they love my paintings’. This mystery loved by mankind is present in your work. I wish your success at every walk of your life and I believe that in near future you will be a renowned artist.”
–Dr.Prasanta K. Bag, Calcutta

Saji’s works, some of them are as large as 160×200 inches (13ftx17ft)! They have also been highly appreciated by his professors, art critics and notable amongst them is an international figure, a noble laureate
Mr. D.Harbor (a german scientist ).

Art at the Click of the Mouse

Let’s go online. That seems to be the mantra for art galleries staging shows. Based on feedback, online exhibits are growing by 20-30% every year. As a result, the volume of sales and buyers’ inquiries have seen a quantum jump of between 400% and 500%.

“Today, Indians spread across the US, UK, Hongkong, Singapore and Dubai among other places are active buyers of Indian art. They also carry out a lot of research on th web and look for works. The important thing is that people from all over the world can have access to these shows. This accessibility is not possible in an physical gallery show. It gets restricted to the city where the show is being held.” a source said.

According to the source, online shows have essentially gathered steam over the past 2-3 years. This is because Indians have become increasingly aware of the contemporary art scene. Besides, the country’s diaspora abroad has turned wealthy.

“The online format also pushes up sales numbers and buyers’ inquiries by 400-500%.The big ticket sales transpire in international hubs like New York as underscored by the September auctions every year by Christie’s and Sotheby’s. Galleries can reach out to these centers by going online.”. The source said.