October 22, 2011
Born in Uttarakhand, IFP alumnus Jagmohan Bangani completed his MFA in Painting from the Winchester School of Art, U.K. in 2007. His work was on view last week at Gallery No. 5, Lalit Kala Akademi (National Academy of Fine Art) in New Delhi.
Known for his abstract visualization of Hindi, Sanskrit, Panjabi, and English texts and scriptures, Jagmohan has exhibited his paintings in solo shows throughout New Delhi, including Gallery Pioneer and the Palm Court Gallery. His pieces are featured at the Asian Heritage Foundation, and can be found in permanent collections in India, Australia, Korea, the U.K. and the U.S.
Earlier this year, he received a Junior Fellowship from the Indian Government’s Ministry of Culture.
Pranamita Borgohain, Deputy Curator for the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi, describes Jagmohan’s spellbinding artwork:
“The word ‘Scriptural’ is literally related to writing, more precisely to scriptures or religious writings. The exhibition
Scriptural Enchantment takes viewers to the world of scriptures, which have been written aesthetically by the young and promising artist
Jagmohan Bangani. His unique approach of making texts the content of his paintings by repeating them in a rhythmic pattern renders them an alluring appeal that enchants and captivates.
Here, the writings could be religious scriptures, mantras, a song, an adage and quote, or it could be templates used in everyday life. In some of his works, Bangani has actually used mantras and shlokas in Sanskrit, Gurumukhi and has chanted them physically on his canvas with his paint and brush...
...There is form of a rhythm, movement, and continuation in Bangani’s paintings, where the text emerges and comes up against the picture. He meditates upon the pictorial surface to arrive at a response that lends a sort of primordial energy to the work. Moreover, the application of colour also reveals distinct purposes, where painted bodies produce a kind of textual differentiation enumerating various forms and corresponding traditions.
The artist started his journey with figurative art, and holds a notable command over his drawings. Due to his quest and affinity for texts and calligraphic writings, Bangani has chosen this medium to express his artistic expression. Working as an illustrator by making posters and sign boards to support himself in his early days, he had a long association of playing with words and texts. It was during his stay in the U.K. for his post-graduate studies that he reinvented this veiled skill and has rephrased it into a fresh symphony…
… His visual elements, liberated from the burden of subjectivity, create an unexplained mysticism.”
Pranamita Borgohain
Deputy Curator
National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi
Top photo: Jagmohan (3rd from right) smiles as he watches the ceremony inaugurating his solo show, with poet, critic and art scholar Keshav Malik (next to Jagmohan, 2nd from right) in attendance.
Below: "Divinity", 2010, Acrylic on Canvas, 60 x 48 in.; "Mantra", 2010, Acrylic on Canvas, 67 x 59 in.
To view more images from Scriptural Enchantment, click HERE.
Read the Artist's Blog.