Artist Raj Kishore Gupta upholds folk motifs on resin and wood

On entering the exhibition Indigenous accents by Raj Kishore Gupta, curated by Uma Nair, what hits the viewers first, is the aesthetics of natural resources. Here, the canvas is unconventional Made of wooden blocks; each canvas is different from the other in thickness and shape. And within those wooden blocks lie the true magic of the artist where he spotlights folk art.

What makes Raj Kishore Gupta’s body of works different?

The works that are on display at this exhibition are mainly acrylic on resin, live-edge wood, slabs and circular tree trunks. These works have been generated during the pandemic period and transforms different folk forms merging them with the artists’ personal understanding of memory, landscape, and material form.  

At the onset, Gupta mentions, “I found that the paintings of all the tribals were about their soil, their land, and their traditions. They paint what they love and what they feel, and I realised that everything is about the stories of one's own place. During the Covid days, as I studied these traditions, stories of my childhood, my family, and the landscapes where I grew up began finding their way into these works.”

This finds direct reflection in the pieces on display where one can easily spot the line-drawings of Warli, or the wilderness motifs of the African and Australian Aboriginal art, the intricacies of the Phulkari and the depiction of simple rural life through Gond. What is even more striking is the fact that each of these folk forms has a very distinct identity and yet Gupta, through his creativity brings them all together on the same platform. Through this he not only showcases his works, but also highlights the community history, rituals, traditions and more of each of the folk forms that he represents.

The artist’s visual language has three very interesting components. First, he works with wood and natural resources like sheesham and kikar slabs. Second, he adapts his own creativity with the imperfections of the natural resources. A crack here or a fissure there actually accentuates his work and levels it up. Third, motifs like butterflies, flowers, trees, animals, geometric patterns etc do not seem to be alienated or representative of one particular kind of folk form. They all come together through the narrative and form one body of work, a dialogue between personal live memories and the nature.

Curator Uma Nair observes, “To engage with these works is to witness a profound dialogue with the arboreal form. The choice of live-edge wood as a substrate elevates the practice beyond mere image-making, transforming each piece into a sculptural exploration of time and mutability. By leaving knots, cracks, and the vestigial bark intact, the artist embraces a wabi-sabi aesthetic that celebrates imperfection.”

What: Indigenous Accents by Raj Kishore Gupta

Where: LTC, Bikaner House, New Delhi

When: July 2 – 6, 2026

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