Sombre hues delve deep into the mind

ART

A visitor at the painting exhibition in Guwahati. Picture by Eastern Projections Minakshi Bargohain is one of the very few new generation women artists of Assam who, after her entry into the field of painting in 2004, has honed her creative pursuits in a distinctive style. Her second solo exhibition, Spandan, was held at the State Art Gallery in Rabindra Bhawan from May 18 to 23. The exhibits clearly depicted her sensitivity and command over the genre of cryptic expressionism. Bargohain’s work is more about introspection or exploring the human mind than addressing social agony or ecstasy. She arranges the compositions with human figures in a slightly illegible light, creating enough space for her to throw deep insight into the dark, unseen arena of an individual. Most of her works are a vibrant assembly of colour. It seems she enjoys playing with dark colours, touched with occasional bright strokes. These make her works distinctive and passionate, at least in giving specific treatment to a particular content. The human hand is one of the commonest elements in Bargohain’s works. In one such work, a female figure in white is placed in the foreground while the lower portion of another female figure is shown sunk in a pool of blood. This figure’s face, placed on the right hand corner of the frame, bears a traumatised expression. Its hand is trying to grab the figure in white as if seeking help or sympathy. In another work, two hands aimlessly try to grab something from among fishes moving effortlessly in the water. The aquamarine shade of the water and the fishes, contrasted with the black hands, show the artist’s sensitivity in dealing with the content. Another canvas in acrylic is a complex composition that suggests the cycle of regeneration. Subtle but imaginative use of blue, deep red and white makes the abstract painting striking. All the exhibits in the show were untitled. “Sometimes, the title brings a limitation to the endless dimensions of a painting,” the artist explained.