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India inspires South African painter
A leading South African artist has opened an exhibition of his paintings that were inspired by visits to India.
A leading South African artist has opened an exhibition in Johannesburg of his paintings that were inspired by visits to India.
The uniqueness of Trevor Coleman's paintings - who uses a palette knife technique that he has developed over a decade, rather than a brush - is that his characters have no facial expressions.
Gauteng provincial Minister for Arts and Culture, Barbara Creecy and Indian Consul General Suresh Goel inaugurated the exhibition.
Explaining why his paintings feature men and women with no facial features, Coleman said: "I'm not doing portraiture as such, but in a simplified manner I've tried to capture the essence of India."
"India is so full of colour despite the poverty, but I've tried to see through that barrier and capture the lifestyle, the architecture, the people, in a simplified manner."
"It's been my fourth trip to India, and every time I've seen something spiritual. In the paintings that I've done for this exhibition, I've tried to capture the spirituality of India through colour," he said.
Consul General Suresh Goel, commenting on the exhibition, said: "What Trevor Coleman has done is to reflect the life in India as seen by a South African painter."
Barbara Creecy said the South African government was celebrating living heritage this year, making the theme of Coleman's work most appropriate.
"Part of that living heritage is our relationship with India, which goes a long way back to Mahatma Gandhi and our common struggle against colonialism."
