Venkanna occasionally revisits earlier work and reinterprets some aspect of it in another medium. The proportion of such explorations are insignificant compared to his overall output or to other prolific artists like Norwegian Edvard Munch. Munch was known for creating multiple versions of The Sick Child, Vampire, The Kiss, The Scream, amongst several other prominent works.
For Venkanna, the hierarchy of such reworking is not fixed. Sometimes a large oil painting precedes a modest size print. At other times, a watercolour may be translated into a monumental embroidery work - an element of which might continue to find its way into an etching. In this way he transposes chosen motifs and compositions into newer settings.
It is as if he consciously abandons the preoccupation with the new in favour of adaptation, revision, and reinvention. According to Venkanna, the reason for repetition is to experiment with visual variation, to explore the subject further, and highlight nuances of tone and texture afforded by the unique qualities of different media.
Works in this show span eighteen years - from his early years as an artist, until the present. All major mediums employed by Venkanna are represented including drawing, printmaking, painting, and embroidery.
I hope these never-seen-before connections will shed new light on Venkanna’s vast and varied practice.
-Abhay Maskara