Diverse Discernment

Most artists are now concerned with an inner world..." wrote K.G. Subramanyan in The Magic of Making. This exhibition brings together three distinct artistic voices—Mehul Patel, Devdoot Rajyaguru, and Hrusikesh Biswal—whose works resonate with deeply personal narratives, despite their divergent styles and themes.

At first glance, their art seems unrelated. Mehul evokes lost pastoral songs and tribal iconography, often using bulls as central figures. His work stems from memory, emotion, and a desire to preserve the vitality of rural traditions. Through imagery such as bulls juxtaposed with modern objects, Mehul explores masculinity, virility, and cultural symbolism without straying from tribal reverence.

Rajyaguru, by contrast, critiques the absurdities of contemporary life. His visual language is satirical, blending verbal and visual metaphors. Works like the artist on a donkey reflect on the marginalization of artistic freedom in India, drawing attention to sociopolitical absurdities with biting wit. His latest work, Dear Sri, furthers his role as a social commentator, detached yet deeply engaged.

Hrusikesh Biswal delves into the subconscious realm of desire and sexuality. His paintings, stylized like Orissan miniatures and patas, are intensely personal. Letters to his muse "Guddi Darling" form the basis of his exploration of eroticism, not as provocation, but as a means to process emotional trauma and express vulnerability.

Though formally distinct, Mehul and Rajyaguru explore tribal and avant-garde forms, while Hrusikesh roots himself in eastern Indian traditions, their works converge around personal memory, cultural critique, and the complexities of patriarchal constructs of sexuality. This exhibition offers a compelling dialogue between the personal and the political, the traditional and the experimental