ON 93rd BIRTHDAY S.H. RAZA EXHIBITS NEW WORK

Courtesy: Press Trust of India | New Delhi | February 22, 2015 Last Updated at 12:25 IST

S.H. Raza in Vadehra Art Gallery

Modernist painter S H Raza in one of his acrylic on canvas titled 'Panchatatva' uses five colours to represent the five elements of nature in a horizontal pattern. Black for earth, white for air, he seems to have his own iconography.

As he celebrates his 93rd birthday today, a new body of work (2014-15) by the eminent artist is being showcased at his solo show 'Aarambh' at the Vadehra Art Gallery here. 

The exhibition displays a spectacular explosion of colours and sublime diffusion of erotica into the spiritual from his vast body of work. 

Raza, a stalwart of the Progressive Modern artists group, says he finds inspiration both in introspection and in the outside world. 

While his iconic Bindu, and the geometrical shapes remain constant in his work, the difference, "lies in what he does with colours." 

"Black," the Padma Shree awardee says, "is the mother of all colours. It is the point from where all energy in the universe emanates as well as the point into which the energy converges," referring to the 'Black Bindu' from among his recent artworks. 

"He speaks the language of colours and believes that the colours must be such that they can speak not only to the readers, but also to each other," Ashok Vajpayee, Chairman, Lalit Kala Academy told PTI. 

Raza's work is a reconciliation of opposites. 

"In his work, the sacred and the sensuous; the spiritual and the erotic co-exist," says Vajpayee. 

A common pattern evident in Raza's works is the existence of white spaces on canvas, deliberately left unpainted, often giving a three-dimensional effect.