It is not often that we get a chance to see artists at work. The creative process is usually shrouded in a veil of mystery. Locked away in the isolation of an artist’s studio and far removed from the audience that only sees the final outcome in the context of a white cube. This of course is the most practical way of making and absorbing works of art. Studios are after all sanctums for experimentation while galleries are for quiet contemplation.
For seven weeks, we collapse this hierarchy and convert the gallery space into an open studio for printmaking. Like painting and sculpture, printmaking is an inspiring language of artistic expression. With its powerful gestures, simple forms, strong lines, delicate textures and reliefs, this unique art form lends itself to experimentation and innovation especially in the hands of an artist and master printmaker like Venkanna.
Since 2006 prodigious and prolific artist Venkanna has made a remarkable number of works, over eight hundred and counting. Paintings, sculpture, drawings, installation and performance, working in all conceivable mediums including oils, acrylics, enamel, ink, watercolor, charcoal, collage, paper-mache, leather, gold, wood, foam…the list is both endless and immaterial to him as an artist. The predominant subject in Venkanna’s works has been sexual imagination, which questions and confronts the way sexuality is understood and defined by society. Continuous persistence with this subject has stimulated his interest to explore image making in all kinds of medium as per the subject’s requirement with complete freedom and ease.
The process of transferring an idea onto a wood block or metal plate and finally making a print is a remarkable journey. One in which the artist must forge a close partnership with material and method in order to achieve spontaneous and successful results. You are invited to participate in this journey of learning and discovery as Venkanna adds new depth and dimension to the fine art of printmaking.
-Abhay Maskara