18.06.2017
Young Artists Exhibit in the IRMT
Someone said the best cinematography was black-and-white. The same can hardly be said about painting but looking at the exhibition that opened in the IRMT on June 18, 2017 one could be for a moment tempted to believe it.
The exhibition showcased the works of the young Solan-based artist Mr. Baldev Panwar. A degree holder in Pahari miniature painting from Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, he gravitated towards more realistic styles extensively copying the works of the Old Masters including Rembrandt, Boucher and Fragonard and considering it an indispensable part of studying art.
The exhibition also displays a number of small-size works by the young artist Mr. Gurpreet Singh presently teaching art at the Guru Nanak College, Dudlaja, Mansa Distt., Punjab. His favourite medium is watercolour and he has a clear preference for the outdoor landscape painting spending much time working en plein air.
The centerpiece of the exhibition are Mr. Panwar’s charcoal works. Many of them are still lifes clearly inspired by the Dutch Masters and depicting decanters, wine glasses and the abundance of fruit in ornate bowls. They demonstrate the young artist’s good sense of composition and his mastery of chiaroscuro – the area where his black-and-white charcoal technique has done him much good. The other charcoal works displayed include his vision of the Hadimba Temple in Manali, pictures of animals and sunflowers with their complex geometrical pattern of seeds that he so successfully managed to capture. Mr. Panwar also displayed his oil miniature series depicting illuminated flowers and various collections of fruits. His grapes, plums and apricots – dewy and nicely arranged on cool and smooth marble slabs – inevitably tempt one with their mouthwatering freshness.
The works he chose to exhibit include his impressions of Shimla with its unforgettable toy train and hill ranges as seen from the various locations, provincial towns drenched by monsoon showers, his native Punjab countryside with its sloping roof houses, pools and ubiquitous greenery, railway cars and steam engines, and lively market scenes. There are also scenes of daily village life greatly enhanced by the artist’s imagination like the picture of a family of manual labourers. While most of Mr. Singh’s displayed works are watercolours there are also several coloured ball pen sketches including a portrait of the famous actor Johnny Depp.
