I never paint dreams or nightmares. I paint my own reality,” said Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, who is known for her self-portraits. Her ideology and creations are reflected in the works of Delhi-based artist Kanchan Chander, a great admirer of the Mexican artist.
“My affair with Frida started five years back when I saw a movie on her life,” says Chander, who recently opened her solo show —Revisiting the Popular — in the Capital. “My first attempt of me and Frida on canvas began with my last solo, Migrating Memories, in the year 2009. That time, the work wasn’t as intricate as it has become now,” adds Chander, whose current creations are much more vibrant in terms of colours, textures and mediums used, in compared to her works between 2009 and 2011.
"I have grown with my work. There was a time when I used to paint only with brown and grey colours, but now I use shades of red, green and blue, which is a total reflection of my personality now," says Chander.
On display at Gallery Art Positive, the show exhibits 70 of Chander’s work under three broad categories, mix media, paintings and sculptures. The mix media has two series under it — Hollywood and Bollywood and Frida and Me. “Mix media is therapeutic, considering the kind of attention and concentration it needs,” says Chander, who has used layers of papers, sequins, swarovskis and many other decorative items for this.
{{/usCountry}}On display at Gallery Art Positive, the show exhibits 70 of Chander’s work under three broad categories, mix media, paintings and sculptures. The mix media has two series under it — Hollywood and Bollywood and Frida and Me. “Mix media is therapeutic, considering the kind of attention and concentration it needs,” says Chander, who has used layers of papers, sequins, swarovskis and many other decorative items for this.
{{/usCountry}}In Hollywood and Bollywood, Chander has fused faces of actors from Hollywood and Bollywood such as Madhubala, Waheeda Rehman, Meena Kumari, Madhuri Dixit, Audrey Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor to create a seamless relationship between glamour, strength and success. “I have merged the portrait of one actor from Hollywood with other from Bollywood and embellished it with mixed media elements. These embellishments are my collection from world over. My work depicts people who have influenced my life and whom I admire,” she says.
Another interesting work at the exhibition is a black and white collaborative art piece by Chander and her son, Pallav. The mother-son duo, who are completely different in their approach, have come to a common point for this work. Here, they connect with each other’s work through a common line drawing figures. “If we needed to do something together, it had to be based on our lives and nothing seemed better than to play with two most contrasting colours - black and white,” says Pallav. All the works are for sale and the price starts at Rs.35,000.
Watch it live
What: Revisiting the Popular, a solo art show
Where: Gallery Art Positive, F-213, Old MB Road, Lado Sarai
On till: December 3
Timings: 11am to 7pm
Nearest metro station: Qutub Minar on the Yellow Line