Abstract reflections

Akkitham Narayanan's oeuvre is a fusion of tantrik art, geometric forms and a clever blend of colours.

"Like poetry, art is abstract. You have to relate to it in order to understand it," says Akkitham Narayanan, who has spent over 40 years trying to perfect the art of abstraction. It's been a long journey and his search is not yet over. Only he now feels he's found his direction "" a style that he can call his own.

Called Geometric Abstractions "" A Neo-Tantrik journey, Paris-based Narayanan's latest solo show has been brought to the city by Art Alive and Alliance Francaise de Delhi at Gallerie Romain Rolland, New Delhi. The show is on till November 4.

Narayanan's paintings are geometric configurations of abstract forms "" a marriage between the rigid lines of geometry and malleable tantrik art.

Says Narayanan, "Geometry comes from earth "" a form of universal system "" where everything appears simple and straight and therefore, rigid. But if we were to look at it in subjective manner, the perspective would change."

For instance, he says the geometry sees the earth as round. "Perhaps because that's how it appears when in motion. But what if the earth was to stop moving? Who knows what shape it would take. What's fascinating about geometry is that it is very systematic," he says.

So within rigid lines and angles of geometry, of triangles and squares, Narayanan likes to infuse in a sense of lyricism by blending in suggestive forms of elements "" the air, fire, water and skies (or heavens, as he likes to put it). His Oriental/Indian influence is visible in the abstract religious images taken from the ancient murals and thanka art.

Born in 1939, Narayanan grew up receiving ritualistic education in Kerala. He spent six years in the Madras College of Art and Craft, and "like many others" he began his art career by doing figurative art and experimenting with cubism.

But that was before he earned himself a scholarship in Paris about three-and-a-half decades ago. There, Narayanan began by internalising the legacy of ancient Indian art.

All those images that he had visually absorbed within him began to take shape. To it, he added a dash of geometry from the West, some tantra art from the Orient, and finally finished it off by introducing rhythm in his colours. The result for him has been pure creative satisfaction and more refined canvases over the years.

"Geometry has been there in Oriental and Indian art all along. If you remove the figures from the mandalas and thankas, you will be left with a diagram. That is what I call tantra art," says Narayanan.

The colour black that he uses on the canvases too reminds one of ancient Indian wall paintings and murals. Narayanan creates the feeling of light by applying a thin coat of oil paint on the canvas and then erasing it.

In fact, using this technique to blend the colours, he creates an illusion of using watercolours and is able to retain the texture of the canvas. The colour settles in the weave and lends the painting its texture.

So while a patron can "see" the texture, the canvas is actually smooth. The technique thus lends a three-dimensional feel to the work. To break the monotony, Narayanan uses a knife to carve or draw lines and write out from the scriptures while the paint is still wet.

Married to a Japanese wife, Narayanan concedes that the Oriental influence in his paintings is a result of his interactions with her people and their rituals.

"While ancient Indian art reflects the preference for earthy colours, Oriental art radiates with the bright shades of the sun," he says.

To keep his creativity alive, Narayanan prefers to do not more than two solo shows in a year. "As for a break, I like to take up small tasks like carpentry or even plumbing," he says. A fine job for a painter!