Abstract art moves beyond literal representation, using colour, form, texture and gesture to evoke emotion and meaning. Instead of depicting reality, it creates a space where viewers bring their own experiences and interpretations — making each encounter with the work deeply personal.
At the India Art Festival, this fluidity of meaning comes alive through the works of Amrish Malvankar and Mahesh M Karambele, two artists approaching abstraction from distinct yet complementary perspectives.
Amrish’s Mindscape delves into the inner landscape of thought and feeling, bringing together Serenity, Syntax and State of Being under a single conceptual framework. “At the core in Mindscape, you have to consider how we experience the world through parallel processes,” he explains. “The mind seeks structure and logic, while the heart responds to intuition, memory and feeling.”
The Serenity series embodies stillness, encouraging viewers to move away from analysis and into emotion. “It marks a point of stillness… you quieten your mind and think with your heart,” he says. In contrast, Syntax is structured and cerebral, composed of fragmented forms that require active interpretation. “The mind has to build an order from the fragments,” he notes. Working intuitively, Amrish allows each canvas to evolve organically: “I sit with blank canvases and let the work evolve… I want people to interpret it in their own way.”
Mahesh’s Shimmering Passage approaches abstraction through the sensorial language of light and material. “I am drawn to how light transforms a surface,” he says. “Gold, for me, is not just a colour — it’s a way to hold and reflect light in constantly changing ways.” His works are built through layers, where texture and metallic pigments create a luminous, shifting field.
“The idea is not to fix an image,” Mahesh explains, “but to let the painting change as you move — so every viewing becomes a slightly different experience.” This dynamic quality invites a slower engagement, where perception unfolds over time. “I want the viewer to pause, to stay with the work, and discover how light and surface can evoke a feeling without defining it,” he adds.
Free entry.
On till April 5.
At Jubliee Hills Convention Center, Jubliee Hills.
Mail ID: anshula.u@newindianexpress.com
Twitter: @indulgexpress
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