Figuring the anatomy

Artist Nilanjan Das confesses of unwinding himself with his art after a hard day's work of graphic art on the computer. The full-time graphic artist with a media group in New Delhi "avoids computers" in the evenings "to paint traditionally."

Though a graphic artist with international awards in his kitty, Das is finding his place under the burgeoning Indian art fraternity's sun.

So when Satish Gurjal inaugurated his recently concluded exhibition "Epiphany in Forms" at the Visual Arts Gallery in New Delhi with a remark that "Das's works are a new genre of art," Das cannot stop gushing about it.

Das's professional training in art was at home itself. His father Vimal Das, who was also a graphic artist and the art director for the Ananda Bazaar Patrika Group was, "the guiding force," says Das. Like father, the son too joined the same profession but in a different city, Delhi, "to struggle his way through."

Das started exhibiting with digital art, being comfortable and familiar with the medium. His computer generated images were printed on plotters resulting in large canvases.

In his recent works Das has experimented with the detailed anatomy of the human form with charcoal and acrylic, again, on large canvases. Das's style of work has been figurative till now and the human figure dominates his works.

He reasons, "I am a figurative artist as I feel that a painting should be a part of you." The artist admits of not understanding and relating to abstract art, unless, "abstract evokes you."

Das tells me that his recent exhibition was a sell-out and some people even got into arguments in order to take one of his canvases home. His recent canvases focusing on the human anatomy stand out as not many artists nowadays are working on anatomy drawing centric art. Das's canvases have an acrylic background with the human anatomy in charcoal, which look very good on a first glance.

But in some places, the drawings of the anatomy tends to weaken. Using not more than three colours, mostly gold, maroon or blue in a canvas, Das likes to "keep it minimal and play up the charcoal." A flower, resembling a hibiscus appears some of his canvases and according to Das, it is symbolic to the male organ.

"Charcoal is a one shot go," says Das, "the medium allows no scope for corrections," he adds surprised on why not many artist attempt charcoal. For Das, the background texture makes the anatomy rich and he uses everything possible "" fingers, nails, candles, cloth etc. "I always like to interact with my paintings with my hands directly," says Das who finds the brush an indirect medium at times.

Das has already started to work on a new medium, wire frame twisted to form human figures. "I try not to stick to one style," he says, always trying to make his art visually easier to understand.

As Das experiments with new mediums from digital to realistic anatomy art to twisted wire frames, he is conscious as an establishing artist, "to be consistent my works." Early fame also has its perils feels Das, "one has to be careful not to be stressed like some artists nor imitate what the art market is doing."