Paintings

A stunning new collection of paintings by artist Shan Re was unveiled at F&B Restaurant, Papanna Street, off St. Mark’s Road , Bangalore. The exhibition was on between 30th January and 15th February . The collection comprised only of oil on canvas with interesting and brilliant use of colours. Just as one entered the cafe, the paintings on the ‘art wall’ created an extremely inviting atmosphere, leaving a strange sense of happiness lingering among visitors. Although the general inspiration was nature and flowers, the pan flow and effect was extensively used, giving an impression of a view from a window on a rainy day.

Artist Adimoolam (1938-2008), born in Thiruchirapalli, was renowned for his detailed figurative drawings and his colourful abstract paintings. In a tribute to his talent, Hatworks Boulevard flagged off an exhibition of his works, including pieces that were borrowed from collectors, to showcase the entire range of his works. Adimoolam’s works extend from the old charcoal on paper in 1962 to the more recent abstract paintings in colour. His paintings include famous works like ‘The Warrior’, ‘Krishna’ and ‘Portrait’.

The exhibition was on at Crimson, Hatworks Boulevard, 32, Cunningham Road, Bangalore from 28th January to 14th February.

Dance

The Aatakkalari Biennial 2009 opened at Bangalore on 6th February at the Chowdaiah Memorial Hall. Artistes and dancers from Korea, Spain, Germany, Japan, Sweden and folk artists from Karnataka and the rest of India kept the huge crowds spellbound through the entire event. The thoroughly innovative mascot of the event, an auto with mechanically animated wings, courtesy the creative young minds at NIFT, was a hit with the crowds. The fusion of international drums with the Miyavvu and Thimila instruments of Kerala was incredible.

Attakalari inauguration (pic: Arun Patre)

The indoor performances by the Attakkalari contemporary dancers, flamenco by the Spanish troupe and the united performance by the Spanish and the German artists were incredible. The mind-blowing Guitar Impro performance by composer Mathias Duplessy from Paris provided a befitting end to the proceedings.

Music

Among all the dance and music performances at the Aatakkalari Biennial 2009, the musical solo concert by Mathias Duplessy was a huge crowd-puller. This event was a free entry show and was performed at Alliance Francaise, with music aficionados thronging the hall well above its seating capacity.

Mathias Duplessy is a musician with an extraordinary talent. He plays the guitar, an exotic Mongolian instrument called the ‘Oud’, the flute and several other instruments. He has worked with several Bollywood music composers and his latest offering is the music for the Aatakkalari’s new work called the ‘Cronotopia’ which premiered during the Biennial. He is an expert at the dying form of Mongolian throat singing.

A large percentage of the audience had already witnessed his unique performance during the opening ceremony of the Biennial and were back because they just seemed to want more of him. And Duplessy didn’t seem in any mood to disappoint his audience.

Mathias Duplessy started playing the guitar at the age of five. Over the years he developed a unique style of guitar ‘impro’ in which he not only plays the guitar but also uses it like a small hand drum, producing the most amazing music ever in the bargain. Duplessy believes he is a Mongolian when he performs the Mongolian throat signing. Such is the man’s commitment that he moved to Mongolia for a while so that he could learn the art the way it should be. Apart from this, Duplessy also played an instrument called the ‘Udo’, a rustic double-stringed instrument, along with the throat singing. Towards the end, screams of ‘encore’ echoed the hall and the artist had to ultimately give in. He seemed to have saved the best for the last when he delivered an ethereal rendition of a piece that still seems to play in my head, a good week after I witnessed a master at work called Mathias Duplessy.

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