From straight lines to curves and figurines, 22 Chennai artists bring you their works with one thing in common, a Madras Accent

From straight lines to curves and figurines, 22 Chennai artists bring you their works with one thing in common, a Madras Accent

The Southernmost school of art in the country is making its presence felt in our city. An exhibition titled Madras Accent is on display in the city and brings together the works of 22 artists from the city of Madras. The Madras School of Art traces back its modern beginning to the Madras Movement in the 1930s. What started as an attempt to break away from British influence and classical styles of art later called itself the Progressive Painters' Association (PPA) in the year 1944. The styles of the period dealt with straight lines as a form of art and thus modern art was born in the Madras School.

The association since then has brought artists under a collective umbrella and led to the establishment of the famed Cholamandal Artists' village in the year 1966. Many names of well-known artists from across the country have come to be associated with this village and continue to both imbibe and influence the style of work here.
The exhibition in town has gathered a mixed collection of works from the three following generations of the ones originally associated with the Madras Movement.
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Newer artists like Aparajithan Adimoolam and Douglas C now share platform with famed ones like Gopinath P, Vasudev SG and Palaniappan RM. The difference in style is evident and gradually traces the transformation of the line form. Younger artists in the exhibition take their influence from travel and other schools of art that they have been exposed to. Particularly interesting are the works of artists like Aparajithan AL who has combined the influence of the Madras with the Baroda school of art owing to his education in the region.

The exhibition has been put together by Prabhakar Krishnan, Founder and Director, Safion Art, Chennai who gave up a long-standing IT career to turn into an art collector and enthusiast. This is his second attempt after one in Hyderabad to take the works of Madras artists to different platforms.

"The idea is to become the mediator between artists and the audience. I work in tandem with the artists and procure their work either by investing in it or through consignments," Krishnan says. "I want to take art from the South, not just Madras to a wider audience and instil a passion for it in the larger market," he adds. Talking about the choice of the name for this exhibition Krishnan explains, "The one thing in common amongst all the artists was their connection with the Madras School and all of them have the touch of what can easily be called a Madras Accent".

Artist Thota Tharini has displayed two of his classical works from a series titled Symphony that come with a dash of colours and curves. Vasudev SG, another senior artist has a recent series titled Rhapsody on display that talks colours, textures and figures on canvas. Amongst the younger generation of artists, Prasannakumar N's work titled Full Stop, an enlarged and blurred piece in Braille was quite intriguing as was the simplistic work by Muralidharan K who uses mixed media to bring gods and animals alive on canvas with the use of numerous colours and Tamil lettering. The paintings and sculptures are on sale and no less than a collector's delight.u00a0