His paintings under Urban Avatara series represent consumerist culture and human life in a neoliberalised world, says acclaimed artist Birendra Pani
Bhubaneswar: At a time when everything seems to have come to a screeching halt due to COVID-19, holding a solo art expo, that too in a country like the USA which is amongst the worst hit nations, is certainly no mean feat. But Eminent Odia visual artist Birendra Pani has managed to pull it off.
He launched his solo exhibition titled Urban Avatara- A New Mythopoesis July 8 at Gallery Fresh Paint, San Diego, California which will conclude July 27. The event aims to summarise Pani’s artistic journey of last 30 years. Recipient of several important fellowships and prestigious awards, Pani, after making a humble beginning in Odisha, has left his footprints at art centres in places like Santiniketan, Vadodara, Mumbai, Delhi and in other countries. Presently, he is in the USA to put his skills on display.
Urban Avatara is about drawing-based paintings that represent consumerist culture and human life in a neoliberalised world, said Pani to Orissa POST while speaking about the theme of his exhibition. “The drawings in this series have sometimes evolved as an unconscious process of art making while at times they speak about the magic of life. I believe that even one line can speak a dialogue; there is no colour in just a line but there are deep layers of emotions, feelings and experiences embedded in it,” he added.
Many of his paintings draw references from mythologies and yogic postures, while his works invoke and invite a new form of balance in human life.
Known for using bright colours and playful images, Pani is often get inspired by humans, animals, birds, flowers, nature, yogic images and mythological figures.
Arun Pallur, a fellow artist from Odisha, said, “Birendra has truly made Odisha proud through his masterful brush strokes. Holding a solo art exhibition including diverse elements like capsule, syringe, heart and brain during the pandemic is incredible.”
