Portraying struggles of women

Karnataka-based artist Basavaraj L Jane has done several solo and group shows all over the country. He did his Master of Fine Arts from Gulbarga University. Basavaraj also did several documentary films for various Government organisations in Karnataka. His latest art exhibition ‘The Pleasure of Paradox’ at Ailamma Art Gallery was inaugurated by eminent artist Raghuram Bhairu on Sunday.

Senior artist Raghuram Bhairu said, “The art exhibition here is a great composition by artist Basavaraj. These artworks remain as a reference for many young artists who want to become an artist. His work is very balanced, the colours are presented without any disturbance. In my opinion, new mediums in art won’t survive too long and I always say, 'old is gold'. Many young artists are coming into the field and want to make it big in the first attempt but end up with bad results. Young artists must have sense of seriousness for art,”

Basavaraj L Jane usually paints in square formats. This format does not let the watching eyes to move ‘out’ of the frame either horizontally or vertically. This artistic attempt to retain the gaze within the painted surface, over the years is rather intentional. It is so because the artist knows that what ‘lies within’ his works is not easy for the eyes to digest.

Artist Basavaraj L Jane said, “Women play a key role in a family and the society. They do all the sacrifices from their birth to death as a daughter, sister, wife, mother, and grandmother. They encourage the children in the family to do well in studies and support their husbands to achieve success. When I was invited to do a show here, I decided to do it on women and to narrate their hard work in different phases of life,”Each of his painting is a story told by elements which are mutual anomalies. 

Each fragment of the canvas acts as an independent piece of self-complete represented image and convey independent stories of themselves, that us unrelated and unconnected to the main narrative. Basavaraj makes that visual speak that are silent and combines abstract with narrative interconnecting their mutual roles.  

“Until today, all over the country, many senior artists like Hussain, Thota Vaikuntam and more did artworks on women to depict their greatness and hard work. Women can do many things at a time and are known to be natural multitaskers. It's our responsibility to praise them and motivate them to reach new heights in various fields,” added Basavaraj.
“My paintings usually contain innumerable images. 

These images together make a narrative and all the images fall into two categories. The abstract colour construct and the non-religious symbolic ones. However, they actually don’t belong to the same aesthetic family. Just imagine the painted images of a moon, a hand, three faces, a rugged earth scrape and crust fell building, partial tree. Even when they are unconnected and even when you do not see such a work. The mere verbal description would have already have told you a story about them,” he informs.

On asking about how he chooses his subject, he shared “I love to experiment and mostly chose the subject from real life incidences,”Basavaraj concluded, “Hard work gives success in the art field. My advice to a young artist is that they need patience to yield a great artwork. This is my third art exhibition in the city and the people here show great respects for artists,”

What:  The Pleasure of Paradox
Where: Ailamma Art Gallery
When: Until May 8 between 12pm and 8pm