Lakshana art gallery graphic prints and drawings of 20 artists for `Print Makers Atelier - 2006'

Etched with finesse

`Print Makers Atelier - 2006' at Lakshana showcases graphic prints and drawings of 20 artists

Printmaking is an important branch of visual arts along with painting and sculpture. But generally people do not realise how much skill and endeavour go into it. The word `print' makes one feel it is a mechanical reproduction of images and has got nothing to do with originality. `Print Makers Atelier - 2006' is perhaps the first ever exclusive exhibition in the city showcasing the graphic prints and drawings of 20 artists. The works include a variety of prints such as etching, dry point, monoprint, colograph, woodcut, lithograph and digital prints made by artists who have been working in the graphic workshops of the Lalit Kala Akademi Regional Centre. The senior most of the participants is C.L.D. Gupta, whose control of the medium of etching is seen in "Baul Singer" and a couple of charcoal drawings. The silvery appearance of the meticulous pencil drawing by K. Balasubramaniyan is noteworthy. Cynthiya's mixed media work "Kite" and another showing a fish, in which the viscosity technique has been used, are colourful and appealing; "Ten Commandments", another work by her, attracts attention because of its rocky texture. In Kanakasabamani's works too, texture plays a major role. Scattered staccato lines are the hallmark of Premalatha Seshadri's creations. Loretti Joyce Pinto's etching of a woman reveals her firm handling of the etching tool and her ability in drawing; multiple figures in different poses dominated by the big face of the woman expressing anguish come out powerfully. She has also done a couple of prints in the chinecolle technique resulting in a multicoloured collage-like imagery. The same technique has been effectively applied by D. S. Sridhar. His dry point untitled work seems to depict a Buddhist Jataka tale. The colour scheme in the mono print by Shailesh suits "Me" well; the twin heads seem to indicate the closeness of the man and the woman. Though thematically different, the wood block prints of Dinakar Sundar introduce the ancient technique of Japan. The digital manipulated prints of N. Srinivasan are based on his pet theme - memories of his native village which still influence his urban situation. Though somewhat decorative, the textural variations contrasting the smooth and the rough are commendable in the digital creations of Ramesh Yanthra. The same technique finds use in the works of K. Baskaran. As today's typical young man, Jacob Jebaraj has chosen to use the CD disc with heat process to demonstrate his control of the medium of etching. Can contact prints be a tool of graphics? "Yes," says Prasanna whose contact prints of newspaper headlines form a unique idea. The newspapers are supposed to have shaded his window and the effect of a window shutter comes out clearly in the somewhat small prints. The show at the Lakshana Museum of Aarts is on till February 20. LAKSHMI VENKATRAMAN