Amitabh Ashesh unveils new conceptual foundations for painting in Mumbai
‘Isee Tarah’, a painting exhibition showcasing Amitabh Ashesh’s original work on ‘Yufism,’ will be on display at the Kamalnayan Bajaj Gallery between 27-31 October.
An Alumnus of the IIT and Stanford University’s art department, Amitabh trained under contemporary stalwarts, including Frank Lobdell of the Bay Area Figurative Movement.
The Yufist compositional platform produces a new class of imagery where scenic, figurative and invisible elements share attributes. Windows become blocks of light, rain drops form a trail of ornamental beads and rippling sea waves are worn as a skirt.
Each painting is complemented with a titular poem, nucleating its meanings and letting viewers engage parallely via literary associations. Collective recollection of similar scenery in quotidian Indian life abounds. Bangalore’s famed Brigade Road, home cooking and street dogs fed by kind strangers are given a fresh perspective.
“I never thought this was possible. This is totally different, unique and inspiring…It’s a new approach that has to be explored, it is truly intriguing,’ says Vanidas Mangathil, a Bangalore-based artist.
Further details about the artist are at https://istarah.art/
Amitabh Ashesh is an alumnus of Stanford University’s Art Dept. Since 2014, he has made stylistic and conceptual innovations such as use of scenic elements in human figuration, anthropomorphic and recursive scenery, articulation of the invisible, exploded or extruded objects and blending of forms. These are presented under the rubric of Yufism.
At Stanford University (1988-1994) he trained with professors Kristina Branch, Frank Lobdell, David Hannah, Jane Rosen and Larry Thomas – all of whom have historical legacies.
Amitabh has been a creative director at JWT and Saatchi & Saatchi advertising agencies; an illustrator for Oxford University Press and Macmillan: and a director of films for prominent clients. He is a prolific and oft commended poet.
Amitabh also studied TV production at the University of Florida (1986-88) and electrical engineering at the IIT Bombay (1981-85). His wife teaches Indian and Renaissance history at the University of Delhi.
