This surrealist art exhibition explores the intersection between illusion and reality

The free dictionary describes ‘miasmatic’ as ‘a foul-smelling vapour arising from rotting organic matter, formerly thought to cause disease’. Hence, ‘Miasmatica’, Vadodara-based artist Anandajit Ray’s latest art exhibit currently on display at the Vadehra Art Gallery (VAG) in Delhi, draws heavily on the uncomfortable imageries of life.

“In Miasmatica, Anandajit Ray uses the general aspects of his surrounding environment with humorous yet intense perception. He is interested in pictorialising the intersection between the illusions of thought and the reality of vision, by relying on his awareness of the boundaries between external happenings and internal imprinting,” Roshini Vadehra, Director of VAG.

The exhibit

Though displayed for the public only post the two disastrous waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, the works from this exhibit have nothing to do with the disease that has held the world in its sway for the last year and a half.

Anandajit explains, “The exhibition title ‘Miasmatica’ is the general sense of unease that one experiences often and not a result of the pandemic which followed closely after the work was done. That is simply coincidental.”

All 27 of his works on display were completed between 2011 and 2019, and had reached the gallery in early 2020 to be displayed imminently. However, the show has only now just been put together as the threat of another wave abates.

‘Miasmatica’ consists of three distinct bodies of work made by the artist. The first of these is a series of paintings called the ‘Peripheral Vapid’, where Anandajit turns to Indian miniatures for structural inspiration. However, in sticking with his signature style, he does not dwell too long on figuration, choosing to focus instead on the artistic translation of violence and anxiety that is caused by a general emptiness of feeling.

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The second body of work has been christened ‘Pseudo Pathogens’, and consists of a series of miniature paintings that mimic scientific, botanical, and zoological drawings, albeit in his own artistic manner.

Anandajit explains, “I have been interested in illustrations of microscopic organisms for a while. These works also imply an attempt at beautifying these pathogens instead of showing them as the boring orb-like entities represented in the media. They are imagined complicated pathogens causing imagined complicated diseases.”

Anandajit’s third set in this exhibit is called ‘Exercise in Brush Behaviour’, which takes a frank look at the nature of painting itself. “It is painting for painting’s sake – in which one senses the amplification of theme as brought about by a questioning of the medium,” shares Roshini.

Collectively, ‘Miasmatica’ is an interesting study of contrasts. Anandajit is equally adept at the strong use of colour in the ‘Peripheral Vapid’ series, as he is at the sepia-toned darkness of his ‘Pseudo Pathogens’ artworks. Further, he adapts to both large and small mediums – his largest paintings displayed in this exhibit are the set titled ‘Ennui’ (watercolour and gouache on paper 60 x 40 inches each) and his smallest ones belong to the ‘Pseudo Pathogen’ series (watercolour and gouache on paper 9 x 12 inches).

The artist

Born in 1965 in Kolkata, Anandajit completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Maharaja Sayajirao University in Vadodara. He has participated in several solo and group shows. The more recent of these include those that took place in Gallery Espace in New Delhi in 2007, Aicon Gallery in New York in 2009, Grosvenor Vadehra in London in 2010, Pundole Art Gallery in Mumbai in 2011 and 2017, Art Chennai in Chennai in 2012, the Lalit Kala Akademi in New Delhi in 2014, the Jehangir Art Gallery in Mumbai in 2014, and Gallery White in Baroda in 2018. He received the Elizabeth Greenshields scholarship in 1991.

Anandajit calls himself a ‘surface painter’, as he believes his work does not inflict his judgment of the subject he is painting. He frequently scatters acts of violence in his works which can also be viewed as decorative detailing, making them more palatable for the audience. 

He is inspired by the naturalist style of George Stubbs and Mughal painter Mansur as well as the fantastic imagery of Hieronymus Bosch and Dutch master Pieter Bruegel. As such, Anandajit’s paintings offer a dark and grotesque view in which “the real and the unreal coexist”.

Inanimate objects, pop art images, flora and fauna are liberally peppered through his watercolours and gouache on paper creations, drawn with the delicacy ascribed to a miniaturist in the backdrop of surrealist art. He often works with the human body as a medium to express his “hallucinatory bioscapes with disembodied faces, noses, eyes, limbs and shoes.” Some of his works rely on a cut-and-paste technique to construct elaborate geometric collages.

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The gallery

Established in 1987, Vadehra Art Gallery has made a name for itself in the Indian art world. The gallery represents a roster of artists spanning four generations, including modern masters like MF Husain, Ram Kumar, SH Raza, and Tyeb Mehta, who were integral to the gallery’s founding years.

They also boast collections of the subsequent generation of modernists like Arpita Singh, Gulammohammed Sheikh, and Rameshwar Broota. Their contemporary programme includes renowned names of Indian art such as Atul Dodiya, Shilpa Gupta, Anju Dodiya, Nalini Malani, NS Harsha, and Praneet Soi, among other young emerging talents.

The VAG has collaborated with the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi and Mumbai, and Kiran Nadar Museum of Art in New Delhi to produce seminal shows on Indian art, and have loaned works and supported exhibitions at Guggenheim Museum in NY, Kunstmuseum in Bern, Chicago Cultural Centre, Asia Society in New York, Peabody Essex Museum in Boston, the Serpentine Gallery in London, and the Mori Art Museum in Japan.

“As a key artistic interlocutor to audiences in India, we expanded our exhibition programme in 2007 to include important names from the international contemporary art scene. Since then, VAG has exhibited works of significant international artists including Yoko Ono, Wolfgang Laib, Bernd and Hilla Becher, Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, and Karl Blossfeldt,” explains Roshini.

The gallery also ventured into publishing in 1996, and has published over fifteen books and hundreds of illustrated exhibition catalogues and artist monographs, in addition to coffee table books, picture books for children, and an art directory. Since 2010, VAG has collaborated with international publishing houses Prestel and Penguin to produce monographs on Indian artists.

Details of the show

Anandajit Ray’s solo show titled Miasmatica is on display at the Vadehra Art Gallery in Defence Colony, New Delhi, till September 30, 2021. The gallery is open from Monday to Saturday, from 10 am to 6 pm, and the entry is free. All artworks are for sale but prices are shared on request.

“We’re happy to welcome visitors to the gallery, where we’re undertaking all safety protocols. For those who are uncomfortable visiting under the present circumstances, an e-catalogue is also available on request. For all inquiries, please write to us at [email protected],” signs off Roshini.

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