09.05.2022

The real and surreal at R.S.Shakya's paintings exhibition at the IRMT

On May 9, an exhibition of the famous Indian painter R.S.Shakya opened in the Exhibition Hall of the International Roerichs Memorial Trust. The Indian curator of the IRMT Suresh Kumar noted in his speech that this is not the first time the artist has presented his paintings in the Roerichs' estate. Ram Sevak Shakya’s art attracts with some amazing simplicity and at the same time with depth. His paintings are beautiful and one can stare into them endlessly, trying to understand their mystery. 

Yet, when one perceives the whole painting, there are no edges that distinguish the ground plane from the vertical plane. The play of scale also contradicts itself. The ‘leaves’ attract attention with their detailing. The humanizing object that is placed within them defies that very scale and one loses oneself in the sheer immensity of the scene. This dichotomy of the scale and ambiguous vanishing points gives a sense of surrealism to the onlooker but the realism of the leaves makes it a pleasant experience. His immense canvases are like immense forests, where one can immerse in its detailing and at the same time restful to the eye.

This happens because of the play of geometry in his work, which makes the experience realistic, surreal and pleasant at the same time. There are more than one vanishing points that makes the eye travel inside the canvas at various points, which shifts the eye level continuously making one flit from one part of the canvas to another. Moreover, the eyes also gravitate towards the dark holes on the canvas, which are different from the vanishing points, making the experience contradictory. The other striking aspect are the scale of the ‘leaves’, which are the same in the vertical as well as the horizontal plane, making it perfect according to the isometric principle.

“The comment on Shakya’s paintings is difficult because I admire his technique, which is consistent and is a testimony of years of work and control on the medium,” writes Dr. Vandana Sehgal, architect, academic, artist. “Shakya’s paintings are restful, yet at the same time, they are intriguing. The monotone of the color palette is soothing and peaceful but the visual depth in the canvas hurtles the viewer into it.

This dichotomy of senses makes Shakya’s work simplistic, yet intense; playful, yet somber; peaceful, yet intense.”