A visit to the ‘Closer’ exhibition and a close look at the exhibits by Ms Urmila V.G at Art Houz gallery in the city makes one feel whether he is visiting an art exhibition or 'art works' on a variety of cells? Although, initially you may get intrigued by such thoughts but once you go around to have a glimpse of all other woodcut prints on display you will be carried away by the delicate, intricate and microscopic beauties.
Thanks to the impact of Covid-19: Just like the lives of people transforming in an unimaginable way, thanks to the Covid-19 Pandemic so has changed the outlook and perspective of many a people and artists’ are no exception to this phenomenon. The predicament on restrictions’ over movement of people due to lockdown and multiple phobias let loose on the eve of hitherto unheard disease triggered a different type of artistic instinct in Ms Urmila V.G to explore the detailed miniature forms.
Plunge into a journey to cellular level: Ms Sandhya A., analysing the works comments-“The stillness of lockdown created an opportunity to introspect on life and what constitutes and makes us alive and functioning - an existential angst that generally loomed over a general majority of people. Transitioning from her earlier series of works which only involved close observations, for this series she moves further closer to observing nature and plunges into a journey that goes what is visible to the ordinary eyes into a cellular level...
...While her works may momentarily resemble microscopic studies of botanical and plasmid material, where these images cease being scientific slides and turn into artworks, lie in Urmila’s artistic oeuvre. Woodcut images are colourful and made with labor-intense techniques drawing our attention to the image as well as the process simultaneously”.
A serious and promising artist: Prof Babu Jattakar, Faculty Member in College of Fine Arts at the Karnataka Chitra Kala Parishat showers full praises to Urmila V.G artists’ couple. He opines-“In fact, Urmila V.G couple are very serious and committed artists’. Apart from both being equally talented and dedicated to the core they prefer to strive in accomplishing artistic feats without much fanfare. Both are well versed in print making and have required infrastructure at home for the same. They are a promising couple and definitely have a bright future on the way”.
An alumnus of Shantiniketan: Urmila V.G (1978) is a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting from College of Fine Arts, Karnataka Chitra Kala Parishat, Bengaluru. She is also an alumnus of Kala Bhavana, Visva Bharathi University, Shantiniketan in West Bengal and did her Masters of Fine Arts in Printmaking.
Three solo exhibitions: Apart from the ongoing ‘CLOSER’, She has already held three solo exhibitions titled ‘RECIPES FOR CHANGE...S’ at 1 Shantiroad gallery in 2010, ‘HAVE SPACE WILL GROW’ at gallery Forty Five in 2012 and ‘AQUA’ at Art Houz gallery in 2017.
Exhibitions, workshops all over the globe: Urmila V.G has also participated in a number of exhibitions and workshops within the country and worldwide. Some of them were at Bharat Bhavan International Biennale of Print Art, Bhopal in 2006, 2008 and 2011; ‘Lino-Cut Today’- Graphic Arts Prize Competition of Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany in 2007; Khoj International Residency Workshop, Bengaluru in 2008; ADOGI Mini Print International of Cadaques, Barcelona, Spain in 2007 & 2009; SaNsA International art workshop, Ghana in 2009; Kyoto International Woodprint Association (KIWA), Japan in 2011;...
... ‘Cross Border Constellation’ curated by Suresh Jayaram, Theertha Red Dot Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka, 2012; ‘F.I.V.E.’ International Video Art Festival, Magmart, Naples, Italy in 2014; ‘SETHUSAMUDRAM’ Sri Lanka + India, curated by Suresh Jayaram, 1Shanthi Road Gallery, Bangalore, 2014; ‘GOPAKAPATTANAM’ curated by Dr. Subodh Kerkar and Mr. Peter Mueller, Museum of Goa in 2015;...
... ‘Stree Vision’, 51 Women Indian Printmakers, Gallery Betonowy, Eugeniusza Gepparta Academia of Art and Design, Wroclaw, Poland organized by LKA, New Delhi in 2019; Engravist International Virtual Printmaking Biennial, Istanbul, Turkey, 2020; - ‘Continuity’ VI Biennial of Contemporary Graphics - DIEGO DONATI Prize, Perugia, Italy, 2020; ‘Drawing Show’, Gallery Sumukha, Bangalore, 2021; The 22nd Triennale of Mini Prints, Grenchen, Switzerland (2021)...
Recipient of Scholarship, Fellowship and Award: She has conducted Woodcut Printmaking Workshops at Theertha International Artists Collective, Sri Lanka in 2011 and National Gallery of Modern Art, Bengaluru in 2012. She is a recipient of Arnavaz Vasudev Scholarship, Bangalore in 2006; National Lalit Kala Akademi Scholarship, New Delhi in the year 2006-07; Karnataka Lalitha Kala Academy Award in 2007; FICCI, FLO Women Achievers Award, Bangalore in 2016; Printmaking Fellowship from Karnataka Lalithakala Academy, Bengaluru in 2017.
-Manohar Yadavatti
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