Serene and soulful

SREEVARAHOM BALAKRISHNAN

George's feel for colour and shapes gives his paintings a visual harmony.

POETRY OF COLOURS: A painting by George R Photo: S. Mahinsha

An accomplished artist, George R is a poet as well. Significantly, both his pursuits complement each other on every count. In fact, `Swakaryakkuruppukal' (Personal Notes), the title of his verse collection, signifies the entire gamut of subjective ambience that is the hallmark of his paintings. He evolves an individualistic syntax in his creations, be it with the pen or the brush.

An exhibition of his paintings is being held at Vyloppilli Samskriti Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram, from October 17. Coming as it does after a lapse of nine years, it showcases a collection of recent pieces.

A self-taught artist, George has always tended to be explorative in his own way, vis-à-vis theme and treatment, sans built-in constraints of convention. And as such, his canvasses defy academic categorisation of any sort. "May be, mine is a lone furrow, But when I cannot but be myself in art, as in life," he candidly says.

A nonconformist, he does not paint to a premeditated pattern. It is as though he just allows his strokes and lines to fuse themselves into a tapestry of sorts, on their own. Shapes and forms merge into another and emerge as a harmonious whole. He also does away with decorativeness, and seldom resorts to figuration, in the graphic sense.

However, the overall impact is that of grace and elegance. Adept at the intricacies of colouration and interplay of tonal variations, George handles hues and shades as if he is fondling them with the feather-touch of a thumb, brush or sponge of cotton. His flair in fusing hues and forms stands him in good stead as he conjures up on almost every canvas a visual harmony that is at once soothing and heartening.

True, George has come a large way from the fractured vision of his formative years. He is now sure of his artistic mission and about the intimations of his responsive mind. What he aims at is to evoke a sense of longing and belonging in the beholder. Perhaps he proves an aesthetic counterpoint against the grotesque fragmentation of contemporary art. And, it has been a labour of love for him all the while, a voyage of self-discovery.

And, the wholesomeness of his creations is sure to linger long in one's sensibility as a soulful hymn.

The show concludes on October 24.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu