Ajay Pabial
My work is an attempt to bring the sublimity of old masters into the contemporary scene of modernity. I have forever been fascinated by 15th – 16th century Renaissance art, both for its subtlety in seducing the eye with beautiful figures, as well as its ability to tell a story, all the while leaving room for interpretation. Likewise, artists such as Andy Warhol, Van Gogh and Lucien Freud taught me how to capture the vivid aesthetics of our surroundings and of the people around us.
Being a British Asian of Indian descent, the paintings subconsciously explore and deal with the constant tear and stick nature of acceptance and being disregarded. Whilst I have grown to be surrounded by the overwhelming use of colour and image in Indian culture, there was always the sense of harmony no matter how chaotic it may have seemed. The paintings echo that sense of harmony, through the use of contrasting but complimentary colours, they embody both Western craft and Eastern influences.
Appreciating a painting becomes an aesthetic value, rather than contemplating the originality of its content. The illusion of realism and the vibrancy of geometrical shapes becomes a spectacle. The sitters are stripped away of their skin colour; identification is no longer of importance and in its place are people of various colours, on depthless backgrounds, there are no signs, symbols or clues left. What we see is a flatness of graphic nature with these posed faces. I further strip the paintings by taking out sections of the sitter’s limbs or clothing to create interesting imagery. There is no hidden agenda and one should not try and decipher them.
My current work is of aspiring Kathak dancer Shyam Dattani. When I first met Shyam his confidence is what struck me, it left me in awe and feeling envy. Yellow and blue are the colours I have chosen for this piece, I wanted to convey that radiating confidence that Shyam oozes. Powerful, striking and seductive. I wanted to enhance the experience by going for a larger scale to both dominate and draw in the viewer. This piece will be entered into the National Portrait Gallery’s competition for BP Portrait Awards 2019.
Socials
Ajaypabial.com
@ajay_pabial
@ajaypabialartist
Shyam Dattani: @_shyamdattani_
