The abstract art of balancing

Abstract art of high merit has an extraordinary capability and inherent tendency to catch hold of the original thought process of a human being at the very innermost and root levels, said abstract artist Silajit Ghosh while speaking about his newly-launched book The Quest Within: Art of Silajit.

- PURBASHA KARMAKAR

The beginnings of abstract art are hard to pinpoint. Yet, if a date for the beginning of abstract art had to be given, research suggests a general consensus around 1910. Abstract expressionism came into focus after surrealism's rejection of traditional artistic conventions and focus on the artist's inner world of dreams and fantasies as a source of inspiration.

"The basic purpose of all genres of art is to express feelings, emotions, vibes, opinions and contradictions that surface up to the upper levels of the human mind from the deepest of its crevices, or subconscious or even unconscious levels, in a way that is capable of impressing itself upon one's own and fellow minds in an aesthetic and extraordinary manner," propounded the artist during an interview with The Statesman.

"Hence, the techniques and applied methods in creating good abstract art very often border on logics and processes that are far from the ordinary and defy acceptable definitions by extending and sometimes jumping over them. This in turn necessitates vigorous cultivation and exercising of in-depth knowledge and spiritual and/or intuitive wisdom by the artist," he added further.

The artist returned after a 21-year hiatus with his first solo exhibition in two decades, along with the launch of his book, The Quest Within: Art of Silajit, on 14 November. The exhibition, directed by Reena Dewan, was divided into seven distinct series, exploring multiple dimensions of the human experience.