An artwork by Abhinav Som ‘Let’s Meet’, is what artist, graphic designer, illustrator Anubhav Som titles his solo show, inviting people to see, feel, talk and share experiences. The effort of the exhibition, says Som, an MFA from Banaras Hindu University, is to express himself as an artist and designer. As part of Let’s Meet, which opened at Casa Bella Vista, Sector 10, on Monday, Som has showcased a range of works.
The water colours portray Banaras in varied moods, hues, forms, as he moves from realistic to surreal, study and practice work to compositions on cloth and paper.
Using various motifs from his works, Som has also designed special products for the exhibition like notebooks, calendars, table clocks, cups, postcards, t-shirts stoles, etc. One section is devoted to his work in ink, depicting boats in Banaras and also horses. Som also goes back in time to create a unique set of five sketches depicting Chandigarh’s trees and life.
“Back in 2007, my second year in Chandigarh, in my hours of solitude, I used to stand by the roundabouts and sketch. I bring here the memories of the city from those years, to share with people,” shares Som, who has also done some miniatures for the show, with elements of nature guiding the painstaking work.
Som says he loves drama and surrealism. “I have grown up seeing works of Bikash Bhattacharya, a prominent surreal artist of India. Dali, Van Gogh, Henry Matisse, are my favourites. From India, Somnath Hore, Ramkinkar Baij, GR Santosh, Sohan Qadri, Raza are my favourites, for they form my philosophy. Art for me is a lifestyle, it’s a sense and sensibility. Whatever I do is a part of it. It’s an experience that I go through daily and I express it in different forms and mediums,” says Som.
Som says that as an artist who is also a faculty in various design schools, he felt a gap between himself and the audience, because of a
lack of interaction due to the pandemic.
“Let’s Meet is my chance to meet people, talk about the works, my ideas, the experiences I translate onto the canvas. My first experience of art was from my school days. I realised when I was asked to write I use to try to draw the letters. Since then, it has always accompanied me in all situations of life through happy and sad days, through high and low and even through this pandemic,” says the artist, who wants to now work on a new series and also how he can contribute to society and humanity through art.
On Monday, Som paid his tribute to Lata Mangeshkar painting her in the studio, as he writes, ‘Some people won’t meet again’.
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