CHENNAI: The canvas is his playground where his creative spirit reigns. Meet Santhosh Kotagiri, an artist who has been creating magic since he was a child. He began his tryst with the brush by copying artwork by senior artists and slowly honed his skills, doing both his bachelors and masters in fine arts.
We ask the artist the importance of studying art academically and what difference it makes to the work. “It’s a personal choice. You should always know and read about the art and it’s history. For me, it helped bring out my individual creativity and taught me how to personalise my work,” he says, elaborating that it helped him understand his work and techniques.
Exploring a variety of media, including canvas paintings, carvings, water colours and mixed media, Santhosh is all about trying his hand experimenting with new techniques. “I work with silver and gold foil, try new textures,” he says, as he excitedly talks about how texture and treatment of the painting go hand-in-hand. “There is a lot of fragmentation and distortion in my work, and none of these are pre-conceived. I sit in front of the canvas and it’s like meditation.”
Piquing our interest, we ask the artist about the relationship between art and meditation. “There is definitely a connection. I meditate when I sit in front of a canvas, the cosmic energy guides my brush, and it helps me get into the mood of painting, especially after a long day,” he avers. “It is important for artists who work with surreal themes to be calm and meditative.”
There is a popular saying by French critic and historian Gustave Lanson, ‘There is no art without commitment and suffering.’ We ask the artist about the connection between the two. “Art is personal, painting is a pleasure and it’s a process that you should enjoy. The question of suffering for your art only comes when expectations come into play,” he explains.
He works with themes that find their roots in nature. The colour palette he uses also reflects this choice, which is mostly shades of brown, ocher and greens. “We are a part of nature, and it affects our subconscious. I draw half human, half animal figures, it is very surreal and otherworldly,” he opines. The artist is currently working on a wood carving with accents using gold and silver foil.
(His exhibition, The Subconscious Rationale, will be on display at Forum Art Gallery from January 21 onwards. For details, call 42115596)