Rahul Chauhan
A Gaiety Spectacle of an Intense Panorama
Oil on canvas
2014
36 x 36 in
Presently living in Baroda, Rahul Chauhan completed his MFA (2010) & BFA (2007) from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. A gold medal recipient at the university, he has won a number of awards and scholarships including the HRD Scholarship from the Ministry of Culture, India (2012-13)
Rahul has taken part in a number of shows in India and abroad including ASYAAY at LVS Gallery, Seoul, South Korea(2015 & 2016). He has participated in a number of group shows like Formations One, Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S.U., Baroda (2016), Show organized by Shimeesha, M.S.U., Baroda (2014), Group show and auction at Lalit Kala Akademi and Marriot Resort, Tara Trust, Goa (2014), Resist, Reinterpret, Recontruct curated by Rekha Rodwittya, M.S.U. Baroda (2014).
He has also taked part in the Baroda March, Rukshaan Art, at The Coomarswamy Hall, Mumbai & at the Art Symposium, ITM, Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S.U, Baroda (2013), and in a 3 person group show ‘NARRATIVE SUGGESTIONS’, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi (2012). He has also taken part in a number of artist residencies including the Piramal Art Residency in Mumbai in 2017.
I am interested in researching oral traditions and writings, exploring myths and social realities as recited by philosophers and writers such as Premchand, Kabir, Rumi, etc.
In my practice I explore various instances and reflections through a colourful display of allegories depicted by animal forms. I mostly make figurative works in oil on canvas. My paintings are a cultural experiment which attempt to eternalize certain concepts and ideals narrated in the history of the region. My travels are a search, involving a range of anecdotes and experiences, and in the process I explore these narrations through the visual medium. I would call them ‘cultural impacts’; a constant reaffirming or bridging of notions from the past and present. Looking back, the present appears as a transitory phase in the wide expanse of histories and cultures. I relate my process to my own identity; to the confusions and assimilations between my local tradition, personal history and the globalized and the universal. With innumerable images in the objective external world, there are even more subjective nuances, like innumerable perspectives, visions and inferences in each individual.
My palette usually consists of bright colours which help to negotiate the intensity or gravity of our times by its celebration. The surreal, allegoric narrations in my paintings are interactions with various new spaces which have broadened my vision. With each new work I aim to develop a richer aesthetic which includes various philosophies and ideas I constantly encounter.
Courtesy of anantart.com , artsy.net
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