Born in 1977 in Jharkhand, India, acclaimed artist Dr Rekha K. Rana has over 50 exhibitions to her credit.
In her latest show, on view at Mumbai’s Jehangir Art Gallery, she amalgamates the concepts of Indian and Greek art.
The show is titled Indus Streams & Delphi Hills, Indo-Greek Reminiscences. The exhibition aims to give the viewers a glimpse into the Indo-Greek ancient era while drawing parallels between European and Indian art. Speaking on the theme, Rana says, “While reading the history of western art and viewing the artworks, I often tend to understand the elements and influences. Some of the similarities between European and Indian paintings arouse hunger in my mind to go deep into exchanges in different eras. The industrial revolution in Europe brought about revolutionary changes in the style and content, distancing from the original creativity, yet nothing can be absolutely new and sudden spring in the field of art. The thread of influences runs down the history lanes taking us to Greek art. Here, we find a vibrant interaction between the then contemporary Indian works.”
She adds, “We also know that there were continuous exchanges between India and Greece including blood relations. The philosophers, artists and historians used to visit each other’s country to develop appreciations of their contemporary works. For a great time of history, the political boundaries were also changing due to the ambitions of warriors. To understand the common constituents of paintings, sculptures etc. in the European and Asian creativity, the art historians have shown their interests in the journey of evolution and changes in these two spheres. Being a painter, the inspiration of appreciation of common elements has influenced my creative world differently which can be seen in my paintings. My endeavour is to reconstruct the history of the visual arts and cultural grandeur of two great civilisations.”
With new initiatives to paint Greek creative sphere, she makes a serious attempt to build a bridge between Indian and European Art.
Rekha Rana engages with art in a prolific manner. The underlying theme of all her works defines the traditions of India and Greece. Speaking on this phenomenon, Rana says, “As every artist explores his medium to unfold himself, the figures, designs, most familiar get automatically depicted.”
Rekha Rana is the painter of the sensitivity and sensibility of the people of India and the world. She often tends to express herself through the stray sketches on the canvas disturbing the tranquillity of nature. The technique used in the paintings for this show is mixed media on canvas.
The exhibition is on view at Jehangir Art Gallery till 4 June