A stroke of brilliance

AN award-winning Indian artist has embarked on a journey of discovery and aims to prove to his family that he is “no donkey”.

With the backing of a Saudi businessman, Satheesh Paul hopes to open his own gallery in Bahrain and teach art to the community.
The 39-year-old’s paintings reflect a range of subjects including war, peace, poverty, fate, destiny, sadness, the deadly sins as well as images of people, birds and animals and have already received acclaim in Europe.
He said: “I feel Bahrain is a perfect location to start with its easy access to the West. My work is the reflection of memories collected walking down the lane of life.
“I am still experimenting. Each of my pieces is subject to a new idea – they are sculptural and the form of art is three-dimensional. It is a spontaneous flow from my heart. I visualise something that I had observed somewhere and just draw.”
Mr Paul’s work constitutes a unique mixture of soft colours, geometric shapes and expression drawn over contemporary mediums like wood, canvas, glass, terracotta and mica amongst many others.
One prominent subject of his paintings is the donkey. He explained: “People normally consider the donkey as an animal that deserves little respect. I grew up with uncles who were not artistic at all and what mattered most to them were education and money.
“If we ever got low grades or did badly in school they would constantly refer to us as ‘donkey’. That has played in my head since my childhood and is one of the reasons I use the animal as my protagonist.”
He is believed to be the first Keralite to be chosen to take part in the Italian ‘Biennale International Programme’ which will include showing his work at a celebrated contemporary art exhibition. It highlights some of the most up-and-coming artists and writers from all over the world and takes place every two years in Venice. Mr Paul will represent India in the 2009 exhibition.
Mr Paul is the recipient of two prestigious awards for artists – the Kerala State Award in 2005 and Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat Award in 1999. He is also a member of the UK’s Royal Birmingham Society of Artists.
He said: “There has been a lot of growth in modern art but no one has changed any styles yet. Pablo Piccasso lit the torch for modern art and it is only being passed on. No one has lit a new torch yet.”
He has held exhibitions across India including major ones at the Alliance Franchise Gallery and Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat Gallery in Bangalore and the Museum Art Gallery in Trivandrum.
Internationally, his work has become a part of collections in Sweden, Holland, France, Switzerland, US and the UK. he represented India at the international arts festival in Chania, Greece in 2004. Currently he has an exhibition running in Malaysia alongside one in Bahrain.
His next exhibition will be held in Dubai on October 20 at the Dubai International Art Centre for two weeks. The Bahrain National Museum will also display one of his paintings in the near future.
He started preparations on showcasing his work at the Ella Art Gallery in Bahrain last December and with financial assistance from Saudi businessman and Indian film producer K S Sajeev Kumar, he is all set to open once his central registration papers receive approval.
He also wishes to teach art at his gallery.
Readers can find out if he has lit the touch-paper for a new dawn of modern art by visiting an exhibition of his paintings above the Union Stationary on the Exhibition Road in Hoora.

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By Shilpa Chandran
shilpa.chandran@gulfweekly.com