ART FROM THE PAST

In seeking to rework the archival in his art, veteran artist S.G. Vasudev strives to retain the echoes and traces of the past, while introducing the new in his collages

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Veteran artist S.G. Vasudev, 82, one of the most prolific proponents of 'indigenous modernism' in India, began to work with collages when the pandemic confined him to his home studio. Vasudev, who studied art under K. C. S. Paniker in 1966, and has always worked across multiple mediums simultaneously, from oil on canvas and ink on paper to copper relief and silk tapestries, says those were grim times and he was looking for something to lighten the mood, infuse gaiety and create positive affirmations. The result: his artworks are allegorical, rich with memory, resplendent with allusion, imbued with myth and metaphor.