Treading on an artistic path to a spiritual quest

The duality of life escapes no one. While life pulls us down one minute, it also springs us back to normalcy. This paradoxical truth is one that we all live with either contentedly or acrimoniously concedingly, but it is the ultimate reality.

Having said that, there is profound learning to be gathered from it, which is that light is never too far from the dark. Good finally prevails. For artist Nirensen Gupta, this belief is sacrosanct. Through the predominant use of black and white colours in his works, he testifies this duality. In his new exhibition, however, he has attempted to look beyond that aspect of existence, into the vast symbolic colour field. 

For his new set of works, he has communicated through blue and black to speak of misery, and red, purple and yellow to talk of hope. Saffron depicts moksha and sacrifice. 

“I have realised that life is not what we think it to be. It is larger than ourselves and must be lived for those around us, so whatever I have imbibed, is projected in my work,” he says. 

Leading the path shown by his guru, Swami Vivekananda, Gupta too doesn’t separate art from service. They’re two sides of the same coin, he believes.

He was a sentimental child who would attach himself to anything he spent time with. He believed that through his paintings, he could bring social change. But he realised art wasn’t enough. He had to get out there and involve himself with people. Only then would his art get a context.  Ramakrishna Mission gave him personal and artistic direction. And he uses its learnings as a navigator for further creative voyages. 
On till January 14, at Aloft New Delhi Aerocity