Artist Sachin Sawant has distinct memories of Varanasi and its ghats that he visited during a family function. “What truly drew me to this place as a child were the colourful reflections of life in water. The ghats and alleys were full of life,” says Sawant, who has captured his memories of the holy city on canvas. The paintings are being exhibited at Art2Day gallery till April 29.
The Karjat-based artist’s exhibits include the zoomed-in view of the boatman, meditating sadhus, boats sailing in the water and the ghat steps leading to the water, which give you a picture-postcard view of Varanasi, a city throbbing with life. Using oil on canvas, Sawant has created photorealistic works which are a beautiful fusion of reality and illusion.
The artist believes that India is a very vibrant country with people from different regions, their culinary habits, attire and their association with the colour. “I see life in every colour around me, be it a pheta that Maharashtrians wear or the turbans that Rajasthanis don and even the sarees and dupattas that women drape. There is beauty in colours which I feel attracted to,” he says and adds, “If the colours speak to me, say through a village scene or a mountain top, I want to recreate them through my painting.”
Sawant says that he was drawn to painting since his childhood and when the time came to choose his professional life and career, he opted to study painting. When asked what he wants people to take away from his artwork, Sawant says, “I want people to see and feel the world, the way I see it and be a part of the moment I have painted.”
Talking about the differences he finds in the art of photography and painting, he says, “The difference is just like the one between films and theatre. One is live and another is a product of retakes and heavy editing. Photography isn’t any less though. There are some shots that can be captured only once but they can be recreated a lot of times. But when it comes to paintings, the artist cannot paint a particular painting in the same way.”
ST Reader Service
A painting exhibition ‘Banaras — The Reflection’ is being held at Art2Day, above Skoda showroom, Bhandarkar road till April 29 (except on Mondays) from 11 am to 6 pm
