NATURE VERSUS PLASTIC
The human condition is an inspiration to many artists. Spanish artist Gayatri Gamuz expresses her observations about the human psyche in a unique visual language where elements from nature are as much part of her vocabulary as are humans. She says, “The modern world imposes on the individual the wonderful and attractive and, at the same time, the unmanageable and hard lifestyle of comfort, while the psyche/spirit is fighting for survival. We live in a symbolic devastated garden. The ‘land without trees’ is a daily challenge.”

Eroding nature, loss of innocence, replacement of the natural over the factory produced are the essence of her paintings. The imagery is surreal and at times symbolic. She makes sarcastic and sometimes comic visual statements. She paints birds resting on barbed wires instead of trees and a big bird is shown standing in a kitschy plastic bucket instead of a lake or river. Her paintings juxtapose the natural with the plastic, toy version of the same to comment on the present condition.
Gayatri Gamuz, recent works on canvas at Hacienda Gallery from October 18 to 25, 2007

ROOM FOR CHANGE
Gargi Raina’s work will be seen in Mumbai after a gap of seven years. While questions pertaining to memory and violence remain central to her artistic vision, in Constructing the Memory of a Room (her much-awaited comeback solo show), the site of memory is revisited. She begins with the motif of a remembered floor pattern and then deepens her explorations with the use of different media. At once linear and flexible in its narrative, her oeuvre is not only easy to examine and comprehend, but holds the potential for multiple layers of interpretation.
At Bodhi Art Gallery, Mumbai, from October 8 to 25.