It is not often that we come to witness this much multi-dimensionality in art at one venue by a single artist. Laxman Aelay’s Silent Conversation, an ongoing exhibition, presents a variety of distinct art series’ that present the spontaneity in his brushes, originality unmatched and accentuated reflections of the artist’s mind with black ink. We chat with the artist about the variety in his series, personal moments of inspiration and more.
Could you tell us about the inspiration behind curating this diverse collection of work for Silent Conversations?
Around 2003 and 2004, I went to New York. My daughter lives there and I have a small studio set up. Around that time I started doing some drawings with black ink on canvas. Eventually, I visited so many museums like The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Guggenheim Museum and others, witnessing so many exhibitions and Marxist works. What I read, what I saw in museums, really inspired me. I was also inspired by FN Souza’s drawings, making 100 postcard drawings. I also travelled to Mexico City, saw murals by artists like Diego Rivera and read Octavio Paz’s poem. After that, I did a big canvas.
Your exhibition displays multiple series drawn from your personal experiences. Could you share one work that bloomed from such moments?
I have a small kid, my grandson. He used to come every day to my studio and he used to draw every day. That inspired me a lot. Every day, he does some kind of playful work. So, that inspires me a lot as well. We eventually started doodling, scribbling together. And now that’s a completely new series of mine. Earlier, I used to work figuratively, like the Pulamma series, with rural images from Telangana. So, from there, this a complete breakthrough.
Among the many series part of Silent Conversations, if you had to highlight one that is closest to your heart, which one would it be?
Most of my black and white on linen canvases — those works are closest to me. In black and white, we have to show some kind of light and shade with greys also. Although we are using only black and white, we have to render it in a way that draws a grey tone. Rendering that kind of dimensionality in the drawing, that is my experience.
On till January 10, 10 am to 6pm. At Artisera, Indiranagar.