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Amitabh Ashesh Paints ‘Yun Bhi’ in Pune
In the ongoing exhibition ‘Yun Bhi’ at Vesavar Art Gallery in Camp, Amitabh Ashesh introduces figuration through original, abstract concepts, reimagined forms and striking color fields. His exuberant scenes of daily life possess a theatrical quality, with statuesque figures in expressive gestures evoking tableaux vivants. Artworks are based on Amitabh’s compositional platform ‘Yufism’. Each painting is titled with a short poem infusing literary air. Penned by a mysterious Bolbul, they provide an emotive entry into a painting and spark viewer interpretations.
Amitabh trained at Stanford University’s Art Department under California stalwarts, including Frank Lobdell of the Bay Area Figurative movement. Displayed works reflect this lineage in simplified forms and emphatic colors however conceptual points of departure intentionally establish the paintings in their own category. For example, windows and doors are constructed with ‘masses of light’, figures at the beach wear undulating sea waves as skirt, and lovers and friends share conjoined limbs. Often natural elements such as the sun and the sky serve as props for human figures. In ‘Page Hunk’, a woman reading a romance novel has facial features reflecting the storyline and its protagonist.
There are instances of historical symbolism as in ‘Pick of Cactus’ where a book holding professor plucks cactus flowers from topmost shoots, outside the university garden periphery. Accompanying verse resonates with reference to the outcast struggling for social justice and pumping flowery fists. In ‘Paper Boat Nina’, evening takes the form of a girl, her red top standing for the sky and gray skirt with a paper boat representing the sea.
Yufism and its compositional principles have evolved over a decade. The same lead to a new class of imagery. Not prescribing an aesthetic style, they are agnostic to it. A vaild analogy would be of architectural blue prints upon which different looking houses may be built. The initial series of paintings employ largely geometric shapes for easier explication but following works have an organic character. Yufist principles are designed for other artists too, giving them a wider significance.
Careful analysis of works reveal surprising ideation. ‘Choral Rain’ depicts a dancing girl against a metropolitan skyline as a storm picks up. Windows pour light and highrises flex, demonstrating ‘transposable behaviour’, a key Yufist tenet. Water beads arrange themselves at the girl’s feet in a necklace pattern making the rain ornamental. In ‘Wheat Field Mynah’ paying homage to Van Gogh, the sky is structured into blocks upon which clouds rest.
Senior artists and audiences in other cities have endorsed the new approach resoundingly. Vani Mangathil in Bangalore opined ‘Yufism is a completely new, innovative approach and an inspiring visual language. It presents a fresh vision that deserves to be understood and explored.’ Abstract artist Jagan felt depictions are ‘coming out naturally well… there is a lot of grammar and vibrations and no noise. Phenomenal!’. Young women, especially from fashion academies and colleges, gathered around ‘Freely’ with its uber contemporary saree, ‘Triangulator’ etc, feeling in lock step with the self-defining attitudes and couture.
Audiences seeking Indian cultural edge, will have cause to cheer the displays.
From: 30th July to 8th August 2025
YUN BHI
Solo Show of Paintings
VENUE:
VESAVAR ART GALLERY
MG Pune Central 2422, General Thimayya Road,
Pune – 411001
Contact: +91 9845956328
Time: 11am to 7pm
Amitabh Ashesh Paints YUN BHI In Vesavar Art Gallery, Pune I 30th July To 8th August 2025
