Saurabh Sadanand Dingare’s journey as an artist began at a very young age and it was his mother who introduced him to painting. Inspired by the old Maharashtrian nose pin, or nath, Saurabh has developed a distinctive, modern and quirky style of art in which his muse uses her eyes to convey her feelings. His artworks depict avatars of strong women as deities, warriors, caregivers and melancholic women daydreaming or playing the veena in beautiful settings of aristocratic daily life. Every woman is a source of inspiration, power and happiness. Saurabh’s upcoming solo art show Stritva, signifies womanhood and femininity in Sanskrit. The show’s fundamental idea is beautifully expressed in the Sanskrit saying, Striyah Sarvatra Sukham Bhavanti, which translates to ‘women bring happiness wherever they go.’ We get chatty with Saurabh to know everything about his upcoming art exhibition.
“Stritva means feminine energy and my artwork in this exhibition represent the same. My artwork is completely based on womanhood and childhood. It includes daily life rituals of our sisters, mothers and friends. That re pre s entat ion i s my vision. In this exhibition, you will come across my style, which has a Maharashtrian touch to it. You will get to see watercolour works and mixed media works,” begins Saurabh.
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His forte lies in water-based mediums like watercolours, acrylic colours and mixed mediums. Having done his master’s in creative painting, Saurabh has developed his own style and calls it Madalasa. When asked about how he would explain this style, he says, “Anything that represents womanhood and our culture. My paintings are of queentype aristocrats.”
The exhibition features 30 of Saurabh’s artworks and when asked about how he decided on the works that should be showcased, the artist says, “With the title that we have given to the exhibition, Stritva, it includes the small things we do in our daily life and the women we see at our home and outside. I also added my own imagination to it. So, my work shows daily life and different characters.” When asked if he plans to add more artworks to this title, he reveals that he hasn’t planned anything at the moment because of the lack of time.
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Talking about the most timeconsuming artwork from the collection, Saurabh says, “There is this painting called Vasant Panchami. It depicts the scene of the marriage of the deity Vitthala, who is a form of Lord Krishna. It took me more than three days to complete it. Usually, I finish my work in less than that.”
Sharing his thoughts on where he finds his inspiration before working on any piece, Saurabh says, “The basic inspiration comes from my observations. These include various festivals and antique items like jewellery, which fascinates me a lot. So, I work on things that I see on my way. If you have seen my work, you will notice that I use this nose pin called nath. That is the main element in my work. When it comes to the characters I draw, they have big eyes. I grew up around traditional surroundings. So, when I sit down to paint, it’s an amalgamation of my ideas and the things I have come across since childhood.”
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Saurabh’s interest in painting started from his mother who was also a painter. First, he used to watch her paint and then he started painting on his own and later decided to make a career out of it. “My family supported and guided me. My parents used to give me feedback on my work and used to show it to my relatives. They bought me multiple art materials and got me exposed to various mediums,” he enthuses.
“I am currently working on my next series. The current series focuses on a mix of childhood and adulthood, while the upcoming series will focus on the time between womanhood and the wedding,” he signs off.
Entry free. December 9 to February 29, 11 am to 7 pm. At Vasantha Art Gallery, Grand Mercure Bengaluru, Gopalan Mall, Old Madras Road.
Email: alwin@newindianexpress.com
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