Hyderabad|India|September'2009: Chitramayee State Gallery of Fine
Arts, Hyderabad is all set to show “The Great Indian Desert” showcasing
the artworks of Kiran Soni Gupta The show will be inaugurated on 22nd
September 09 at 6.30 pm by Hon’ble Governor of Andhra Pradesh Shri N D
Tiwari. The event would also mark by launching of book” Kiran’s Art
Renderings” brought out by Times of India. The book is wonderful
collection of exquisite artworks of Kiran Soni Gupta. Kiran seems to have
permanently etched a place for artwork in the world of art.
Kiran seems to be a complete departure from the sterotype bureaucrat
keeping her creativity and soul alive through her childhood interest which
is now fully blossomed into a passion and obsession. The paintings
captivate the essence of life in India from the ordinary and mundane to
the emerging new patterns of contemporary society.
The art exhibit will be on display at Chitramayee State Gallery of Fine
Arts from 22nd till 30th September 2009.
Kiran Soni Gupta is an artist, writer and an activist administrator. She
is presently Divisional Commissioner, Jaipur in Rajasthan. After joining
the Indian Administrative Service in 1985 she has held various
distinguished assignments in the Government of India, Kerala & Rajasthan.
Kiran has studied public policy and development at the best schools,
Maxwell Syracuse and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government where she
was a Mason Fellow in 2005-06. Her concerns about various contemporary
issues have been expressed regularly in her writings in many national/
international newspapers/journals.
It is however through the brush and paint that Kiran’s creativity finds
best illustration. Her works reflect not only her conviction on issues of
women, children, poverty, development and environment, but also her
sensitivity, keen observation, and also, an abounding faith in humanity.
From sketches, pen and ink works to mixed media, Kiran has given new
dimensions to art forms, both traditional and modern. Creativity with
colors and experimentation has given her work depth as well as impact.
Diverse assignments have provided her opportunities to travel and also, to
stay with amidst nature as different as the tropical forests and beaches
of Kerala and the desert scrublands of Rajasthan. This exposure finds
expression in her landscapes in oil, water colors and also mixed media.
The iconic influence of the spirituality of her surroundings is seen in
many of her paintings in the Tanjore style.
Kiran's association with well known artists & masters has led her to some
of her best etchings, wood cuts, linocuts, lithography & calligraphies. Of
late she has produced a series of more than three dozen works titled the
'Harmony' reflecting various forms of the relationships between man & his
environment. She organized the “Kala Kumb" through community support in
March 2003 that attracted a congregation of 150 artists from all over the
country. Her works have been exhibited at different national/international
events more recently at California, Boston, New York, Cambridge, Syracuse,
Toronto, Ottawa Chicago, London, Iran and Srilanka. At home she has
exhibited in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and Ludhiana and at the
International Roerich Memorial Trust, Naggar at Kullu. Her paintings on
the “Famine" depicting its impact on women and children in India, won her
a National Award. Another painting the “Matters of Heart" was commended in
the All India Fine Arts Exhibition. She was also a visiting artist at the
East West Centre, Hawaii. Her artworks auctions in Cambridge for raising
charity for children’s food and education have helped her in realizing her
vision of art for social cause. She also won the Valparaiso Foundation
Fellowship, Mojacar, Spain in 2007.She has been honored with ‘Kala
Shiromani Award” in 2008. She also just completed the coveted art
residency at Centrum ( US) and participated in the World Art Expo 2009.
Last year, Times of India brought out a book “Beyond Strokes” and this
year “ Kiran’s Art Renderings” based on her selected artworks. In an
interview to Times of India, she acknowledges that the primacy of life
over art is widely attested. Visual art enables one to transform the
spaces in which they exist, by transferring them into spaces where it is
possible to do things and not merely to contemplate. Once the visual
craftsmanship is accessed by special modes of perception and
understanding, the question is how we can return to the world of real
things with knowledge about them gained from our experience within the art
world. Visual perception is a process during which we obtain 'inputs' from
environment in the form of retinal stimulation, and biologically speaking,
its function is to provide us with information about environment. Visual
experience along with background beliefs must ensure the truth of what we
claim to know. It may well be things are not as we perceive them to be.
Once this distance collapses, art becomes a part of life. Art educates
emotions giving us knowledge of ourselves. Art constructs our inner self
enhancing our sensibilities. This human existence at a higher level is
most aspired. The combination of verbal and visual craftsmanship assures a
person the higher levels of creativity, sensitivity and sensibility. This
could be used best to spread humanity.
She believes that man’s soul is the architect of history and that art is
the manifestation of man’s soul & reflection of human identity. Art is
unbounded and recognizes no constraints. Her recent artworks auctions in
Cambridge for raising charity for children’s food and education have
helped her in realizing her vision of art for social causes. In modern
times, art is playing a dominant role in bringing about social change
transcending borders and minds. Art is the domain of the dialogue between
civilizations and cultures; it can speak in a loud and penetrating voice.
Art is most often seen as pleasing the eye - creating beauty. Yet the idea
of beauty, like that of truth, is most challenging in the present day. If
something moves you to an understanding, somehow unreachable for you, by
the common paths of words and reason, it's Art for you. Art is not for the
sake of anything…. each art work in its own right depicts the image of the
soul of the artist and the society at large.
Her affair to dabble with art has enabled her to understand humanity in
its entire perspective in a better way and to draw a positive orientation
for political and social change. Her passion for art supplements her to
understand various administrative issues or problems in their entirety and
apply herself to them with a wholesome approach. Similarly, her
administrative experience is well reflected in her art creations. Her
sensitivity towards the environment and people has made her a favorite.
This has helped in grooming her as a human being and an outstanding
administrator. She says, “My encounters with diverse human situations have
always been a source of inspiration for art. Symbiotically, after working
on a piece of art I have settled down for work with a renewed enthusiasm
and new perspectives. Finding humane solutions to versatile human problems
is the essence. I call it 'Social Entrepreneurship' for which creativity
is the driving force.”
For her the truth rings in words of Paul Klee, “A single day is enough to
make us a little larger or, another time, a little smaller’.
