Language of Abstraction

When you make love, you don't think of the child. You just make love," says Delhi-based artist S Harsha Vardhana, quoting his father — the late artist J Swaminathan. As Vardhana talks about his indifference towards the end result while creating his works, he oozes an innate sense of creating artwork for pleasure. This well explains his latest collection "Ideations: Colour, Form, Dimension and Space", comprising 35 works that feature an abstract yet fluid language of colours and patterns. As many as 25 works from the collection comprise his new exhibition, which opened in the Capital on Saturday.

With no implied meaning in any of these works — all of which he created in a year — Vardhana opens the floor for the beholders. "I don't work with a theme or a concept and the motifs do not signify anything . The works may be considered as ideations of colour, form, space and dimension," says the 55-year-old, adding, "The beholder should have a conversation with the works and put meaning into them rather than asking me what I think of it."

The works, on paper and using mixed media, are visually articulate, with recurring motifs and signs. For instance, inverted triangles can be seen in all the pieces. "Though he paints in the old-school way of abstract painting, there is a contemporary touch to his works. This makes the narrative even more dense, and at the same time, very personal," says Sunaina Anand, director of the gallery.

Vardhana has consciously done away with titles also. "It distracts the beholder because they want to know how the title is connected to the works," adds the artist.

The exhibition will also have an accompanying catalogue that features some of the quotations by the artist's father along side the works, which the artist feels describes them aptly.

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