Culture
In creative flow
Fine arts
The Fine Arts in Karnataka were nurtured by successive monarchs who commissioned temples, sculptures and paintings. The city bears this monumental legacy gently, and works of art can be seen at several public and private galleries. This is also home to quite a few local artists who have won international acclaim.
Ravikumar Kashi is an artist whose works cut across defined expectations in different mediums such as painting, sculpture, photography and installation. His idea/concept driven works are layered and connect with the viewer in multiple ways. Introspection is an important device in his works, which touch upon the idea of the self and its many facets. He has also explored the themes of desire, gratification and destruction, in individual and at societal level. He is seen here with ‘A thousand desires’ created out of cast coloured cotton pulp in 2012.
D
ating back to the majestic 6th century Mahishasura Mardini in Aihole, the 6th-7th century rock cut cave temples in Badami , the th 12 century madanikas (dancing nymphs) in Belur, the 15th century stone chariots and musical pillars in Hampi, sculptors in the state had evolved a distinctive iconography to create masterpieces. Painting had a rich and distinctive style with gilded gold leaf, known as Mysore school. These rich paintings of icons adorned puja rooms, temples and palaces of the Vijayanagar Empire and the Wodeyars of Mysore.
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The genres of landscape painting and Company school etching was introduced by the British colonists, who began to record their impressions of the new country to send to their families back home. The new visual language of western European art included botanical drawings, along with landscapes and people. Its influence can be seen in the landscapes of prominent artists of the mid-late 80s such as K Venkatappa, Rumale Channabasavaiah and N Hanumaiah. The British style of painting with water colours came into vogue in art schools such as the Chamarajendra Institute of Visual Art, Kala