When it comes to art, hearing about and visually seeing oil on canvas is a regular feat, but have you seen oil on metal? Displaying the works of artist Ankur Rana is his latest solo show in New Delhi which kicks off from today. Titled, Fundamental Instincts the show is curated by Georgina Maddox and displays 25 large canvases that tell a story, each different from the other.
Even a look at Ankur’s paintings would give off the feeling that their base is shining and reflective. That is because instead of using a regular canvas, through experimentation, he has discovered the technique of using oil on metal as the medium of expressing his creative work. The usage of rose gold stainless steel lends the paintings a shimmer which is usually common in reflective surfaces like water. The metal canvases bring together 25 stories of fundamental human instincts which border around the themes of creating, surviving and connecting.
The overall curation of the exhibition rests in the belief that art and the ability to create art itself, is seen as a primary instinct, is presence across all species – whether it is man or animal. Since the beginning of time through cave art, man made it possible to communicate his deeper feelings. Even today, one can see videos of dogs with brushes surface on the internet where they have made a canvas through strokes. The only difference in these cases is that while animals can make them for survival for instincts, man too makes them through instincts but combines their learning and knowledge giving it concrete shape and form.
Each of his works are titled and convey a poetic resonance with the artwork itself. Companion is about a girl from the North East Himalayas interacting with a parrot; while in Shallow vs Supreme, Lord Shiva is re-imagined as a yogi meditating in the mountains with the Ganges flowing by and the third eye awakening. With this exhibition he tries to portray art as a universal impulse exploring love, companionship, beauty, survival and more. His use of metal as the canvas, semi abstract explorations, symbolist patterns, and more, Ankur starts off a dialogue between human emotion, environment and man’s innate nature to create art.
What: Fundamental Instincts
Artist: Ankur Rana
Curator: Georgina Maddox
When: August 28 – 31, 2025
Where: Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi
Timings: 10 am – 7 pm
For more updates, join/follow our WhatsApp, Telegram and YouTube channels.