He is an artist of his own, a man who paints for himself. Quite the reason why Laxman Pai refuses to cast his work into any genre or style, or speak of his influences.
‘‘I have evolved my own style. For me, styles like abstract or realism are difficult to define,’’ says the 80-year-old artist. Though not a retrospective, the exhibition lends a glimpse of some of Pai’s earliest works — from the self-portrait done in Van Gogh style (1950) to Spring (1969) and Aakash in Goa (1971), based on his son Aakash’s profile. Then are figurative works like Sikkim (1980), a portrait of a north easterner and Durga (1992).
‘My style comes from the aesthetics of Indian miniatures. I was never in favour of infusing western style of perspective or realism,’’ says the Padmashree awardee.
Born in Goa, Pai graduated from Mumbai’s J J School of Art, and is a trained musician. Like his peers F N Souza and S H Raza, he spent nearly a decade in Paris in search of a modern idiom of artistic expression. ‘‘I did stay there, but I have retained my Indian roots.’’
From then on, one could see a lot of fluidity and movement in the works of this reclusive painter. ‘‘Art can never be static. It is a product of different moods,’’ he says.
While the female form still dominates the later works at the gallery — Human forms series, and We two in 2000s — they have become more decorative. He also retains his love of musings on family scenes. Abstract influences are evident in Unrest (2004), his take on the global situation done in the US.
‘‘My works are indicative of traditional growth and self-realisation. The learning process, of course, continues till the end.’’
The exhibition is on at Dhoomimal Gallery till March 31.
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