'One Foot Forward' at MKF Museum of Art is born out of curator Shirley Mathew’s love for Bengaluru

From the sky above, a sparrow gazes at two sparrows underneath. While the one above is traced in a yellow outline against a black sky, the two sparrows below are painted in a realistic style against a red backdrop. Titled Fading Reality, the mix media work by Hemant Kumar makes us wonder if the artist has painted this as an ode to sparrows — the once urban birds that are endangered now — and whether what will remain of them one day is only their existence in illustrations. This and more such paintings will be on display at the exhibition One Foot Forward at MKF Museum of Art, starting this week.

Focusing on depicting the steps we take in life for a better tomorrow, the exhibition was inspired by ‘my life in a city,’ as curator Shirley Mathew puts it. One Foot Forward is set to showcase works by four prominent artists: Hemant Kumar, Nandesha S, Rani Rekha and VG Venugopal. Most works are in acrylic or mixed media. The size of each work is one foot by one foot, which lends itself to the very title of the show.

“I have been seeing so many artists creating abstract and impressionist cityscapes over the years but very few addressed personal expressions of life in a fast-growing city of their domicile. So, what better than to group together four such artists to engage viewers to create their own narrative?” says Shirley, telling us about the exhibition.

While abstract realism dominates in terms of style, the colours that dictate the palettes across paintings are black, red, yellow and white. Be it two faces engulfing the smoke produced by vehicles in one painting by Rani Rekha or a spider caught in the web of traffic in another, the artworks capture the essence of everyday moments of our lives in perhaps a more pensive world. Think of the paintings of Seoul-based artist Heo Jiseon but in an Indian context.

What next can we expect from MKF Museum of Art? “We have plans for art talks, which we have conducted since the last three years in small groups and hope to continue. Also, I want to encourage artists whose concept and renditions are thought-provoking and discernible,” Shirley signs off.

Entry free. May 18 to June 2, 11 am onwards. At MKF Museum of Arts, Lavelle Road.

Email: prattusa@newindianexpress.com

X: @MallikPrattusa