Murali Sivaramakrishnan goes on “an inward journey” with his paintings

It was sheer coincidence that Murali Sivaramakrishnan titled his portray exhibition, ‘Interior Spaces’. He had no clue that it will find yourself as a digital present, whereas he was all set to showcase them on the artwork gallery of Alliance Francaise de Trivandrum (AFT) in April. “I had named it ‘Interior Spaces’ much before the COVID-19 situation came in. Although some of the works were done during the initial days of the lockdown they were not made with the pandemic in mind. However, the concept became relevant for the current situation,” says the Thiruvananthapuram-based artist-poet.

He explains that the collection, with over 40 paintings achieved in oil and acrylic, is extra like a continuation of his earlier exhibition, ‘Belonging to Earth’, held at Jehangir Art Gallery in Mumbai final 12 months. “It was about the sense of belonging. When you belong to something, you automatically take a journey inwards and that exploration has come out in ‘Interior Spaces’. It is a journey within, where I consciously and unconsciously continue by interior dialogue with nature, which has always inspired me,” he says.

In a observe concerning the assortment, Murali has put down, “….we need to come to terms with the outer and the inner, the akam and puram, of our existence. When we are in a gallery with paintings on display we begin to recognise this. The COVID-19 pandemic situation appears to have necessitated this space and occasion. This is the time for our introspection, recognition of our true senses. Therefore, my Interior Spaces.”

It is the seventeenth solo exhibition for Murali, who has been a part of group exhibitions held throughout India and overseas. Having developed his personal fashion of abstraction, he, nonetheless, believes that there’s nothing known as abstraction in artwork. “Everything is abstract. When a child draws a mountain and sunrise, he or she makes a few lines here and there and fill it with colours. But, in nature, there is nothing like an outline with colours inside or outside. So what the child draws is also a kind of abstraction. However, unfortunately, people look for a sense of resemblance in art and try to find meaning. When they fail to do so, they get worried about an abstract work,” he says.

The artist stresses that he prefers to go away it to the creativeness of a spectator to know his works. “Instead of trying to bring meaning into a painting, I think it is better for the painting to come out with a meaning,” he avers. As somebody who believes that “painting is a complete art and can evoke all senses at once and variously”, Murali says that he “doesn’t want to take the role of an interpreter.”

Among the evocative pictures within the exhibition are two units of triptych (a panel of three paintings) and one other set with 5 paintings. “At times you tend to feel constrained by the end of the canvas or paper. But in a group of panels you can bring in separate dimensions and colour frames that complement each other. It is basically about bringing structural continuity,” he observes, including that every portray within the assortment holds significance for him.

The 60-year-old artist taught literature and was professor and former chair on the Department of English, Pondicherry University. He can also be an writer with books on aesthetics, atmosphere and poetry assortment to his credit score, moreover being an avid hen watcher and nature photographer. “All these roles are important for me and they are a kind of nourishment,” he says.

During the lockdown he immersed himself in portray water colors and have been importing them often on his Facebook web page (Murali Sivaramakrishnan). “I enjoy travelling and since I can’t go out now, I have been painting the outdoors, especially those places in Kerala that I have visited, such as Ponmudi, Thattekkad, Munnar, Wayanad…,” he provides.

The exhibition might be considered on-line till November 30 through the hyperlink:

https://artspaces.kunstmatrix.com/en/exhibition/3128912/interior-spaces-by-murali-sivaramakrishnan