The National Gallery of Modern Art on Palace Road, Bangalore has been showcasing the works J.S. Khanderao in a an exhibit titled “Through the Window: J.S. Khanderao Retrospective exhibition”. On until the 30th of December, the paintings can be viewed between 11am and 6.30pm, with the exception of Mondays and national holidays.
J.S. Khanderao is a celebrated artist, who has been painting for decades. He is a student of the Sri J.J.School of Art, Mumbai, from which he graduated in 1963.
While Khanderao does dabble with different mediums, he is perhaps best known for his abstract oil paintings. One of his fellow artists once pointed out: “Getting transparency using the oil media is one of his [Khanderao’s] greatest achievements.”
The “Through the Window” exhibit mainly focuses on the artist’s oil abstracts. This theme of windows can be traced back to one of Khanderao’s earlier exhibits in 2013, similarly titled “Windows”. In an interview at the time, Khanderao explained the subject of his paintings thusly:
“During a stroll on the streets of Gulbarga city in the night a few years ago, a chance glimpse of a window with lights flowing out of window screens caught my attention. It gave me the idea to take up paintings of windows with lights escaping from the screens. The tiny cracks of the window frames became the main theme of my paintings.”
The National Gallery is also displaying some of J.S. Khanderao’s other works, such as his sketches, portraits, drawings and watercolour landscapes. A lot of his paintings have remote locations and historic sites as their subjects. You can view some of his earliest paintings, such as the Mumbai High Court (1962), as well a range of paintings of Gulbarga, Hubali, Hampi, Surpur and Badami.
As is described in the placard at the gallery, Khanderao is known for his “suggestiveness”, in that he is not a “meticulous miniaturist”. He finds “the reimagination of the past “problematic.“” This is apparent in his paintings of historic sites.
In addition to these, you can also view his rapid sketches, paintings of folk traditions, and portraits of people such as Siddappa Gajare (2014).
Regardless of whether you are a fan of abstract art, portraits, or landscapes, this exhibit has something to offer for everyone.
- Through the Window: J.S. Khanderao Retrospective exhibition
- At the National Gallery of Modern Art, Bangalore
- Until 30th December, 2018
- Between 11am and 6.30pm
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