An imposing sculpture of a teenage girl sitting cross legged on a square box welcomed the visitors at Andhra Pradesh International Art Festival. Hung on the walls of Hawa Mahal were the thoughts and imageries of 62 artists, which included international artists apart from students of fine arts and local artists.
The three-day art festival that concluded on Monday saw good response from art lovers and visitors.
From scenes at a fish market to farmers sowing seeds in paddy fields, from a white peacock dancing in a jungle to pigs drinking water in the backyard, from Lord Shiva and Buddha in their meditative postures to Sachin Tendulkar celebrating his century, the exhibition displayed various facets of life through paintings.
The exhibition didn’t have any theme.
Explaining the reason behind this, Katturi Ravi, the curator of the exhibition, said, “I did not keep any theme for the exhibition as I am of the opinion that art does not have a definite shape and the artist should have the freedom to express anything that his brush desires. And look at the result; we have paintings that display stories about different life experiences.”
An artist himself, Ravi started this series of exhibitions to build a community that is aware about art. This is the sixth edition. The aim is to promote local artists and encourage students of fine arts.
‘There is always space for another passenger in a shared auto’ reads one of Soumya Bellubbi’s paintings displayed at the exhibition. Documenting the city through her paintings, Bellubbi took to the canvas to share her experiences about daily life. Apart from the auto-rickshaw, her paintings also depict the routine of fishermen at Yarada beach, the breeding of Olive Ridley turtles, birds that visit her garden and the coffee plantations of Araku Valley.
“The paintings are a flash from my memory about the things that I have seen or my experiences from travels. Each painting has a personal story behind it,” said Bellubbi, who has been living in the city for the past six years.
Another highlight of the exhibition were the sculptures that were placed along with the paintings. Shilpa Surana, whose sculpture was stationed at the entrance, took to sculpting just a few months ago.
“My teacher always says that art is a reflection of what the artist sees around herself. It is an honest portrayal of our surrounding with a sprinkle of imagination. The cross-legged white washed sculpture of a girl that is displayed at the entrance is that of my daughter,” she said.
With more people taking to fine arts in the city and many of them exhibiting their works, Ravi hopes that the city gets its own art gallery which has been long pending.
“An art gallery in the city will encourage more artists to display their work and build a culture for art,” he added.