A brush with the romantics

Romanticism, to this group of artists, is a way of looking at life with chaos within and around. These artists, eight in number, have come together to explore the concept of romanticism through an exhibition titled, Romanticists.

Romanticism, to this group of artists, is a way of looking at life with chaos within and around. These artists, eight in number, have come together to explore the concept of romanticism through an exhibition titled, Romanticists.



Capturing their thoughts through camera, on canvas and on metal, are Archna Singh, Ankur Rana, Sourabh Mazumdar, Sonia Sareen, Manish Barodia, Amit Bhatia, Sudamini Mishra and Kamar Alam.



The artists say they want to see the world move away from social media to other life media.



For artist Saudamini Mishra, romanticism is a metaphorical foray, beyond the mundane. "My works are a reflection of a human longing for money. A need which, when exaggerated, becomes a desire and consequently, an object of romanticism. The poor pine for it, the well-off wish for it and the rich want to augment it. The works borrow scenes from everyday life and infuse it with the romantic," says Mishra.

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Artist Archna Singh says romantics give greater attention, both to describing natural phenomena accurately and to capturing "sensuous nuance." "Romanticists have a fascination with animals as both forces of nature and metaphors for human behaviour. Animals, in my eyes, are in every way better than human beings. In all my works, I try and capture the emotions of animals," Singh says. Sourabh Majumdar, on the other hand, finds romanticist expression in forms. "Form is where my quest for true romanticist expression begins," he says.



As for Manish Barodia, romanticist is essentially the energy of being one. "As a romanticist one might look at the energies of people very differently and later express the nature of these energies. Here, the character of people also becomes the environment. That energy is ‘romanticist’ to me," says Barodia.