India Art Fair 2022: Two emerging artists from Odisha on their artworks and creative process

The 13th edition of the India Art Fair (IAF) is a spectacular display of myriad artworks, forms, and artists. While the much-celebrate and renowned ones are enjoying mainstream publicity, at the heart of it are emerging artists who are invested in converging the traditional and the experimental, producing fresh and innovative artworks that stay with you.

Among them are two artists from Odisha, Laxmipriya Panigrahi (32) and Digbijayee Khatua (32). On April 1, 2022, their works were also exhibited at the 62nd National Exhibition of Art where they were among the 20 Lalit Kala Akademi awardees selected by a distinguished jury based on attributes like “quality of execution, the freshness of images, innovative use of materials.” At the IAF, their works are on display at the Anant Art Gallery, Booth – E5.

In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, both artists discuss their artworks, their process of working, and the influence of their origins in their paintings. Edited excerpts.

Laxmipriya Panigrahi: “My paintings tell me when to stop”

Panigrahi, who is a recipient of the Odisha State Award, completed the Bachelor of Visual Arts (Painting) from the Balasore Art and Crafts College, Odisha, and a master’s in the same field from the Utkal University of Culture, Odisha in 2013 and 2015 respectively. After that she was employed as an art teacher in a school before coming to Delhi in 2017, telling her father that she’ll be back in a year. She’s been living and working in Delhi independently for the last five years.

Though her artworks on display at the IAF immensely draw from the detailing patterns that are observed in the mythology-inspired Pattachitra paintings from Odisha, there’s a heavy inclination in her paintings towards presenting the harmonious relationship between the inner and the outer worlds. Especially the Land of Happiness, which exudes the sense of calmness that forms a major part of her personality.

Talking about her journey, she tells us that when she came to Delhi, she terribly missed the greenery of Odisha. “There’s something colourful and spiritual about my hometown Baleshwar/Balasore. When I started my practice in Delhi, it inevitably made its way into my paintings. I, of course, knew Pattachitra, but I wanted to apply it differently, so I started working with watercolours and replicated the detailing that we see in traditional paintings in my work,” she adds before categorically mentioning that she doesn’t know what form her painting will take because she’s a freewheeling painter who leaves it to the painting, the work of art, to tell her to stop.

She says, “It’s all a relationship. Nature and I have one. I love animals. In the same way, I am close to my paintings. I only have thoughts. I feel that I am surrounded by subjects, and when I begin working, they take me on a journey, and I happily follow them around. Slowly and gradually things start appearing on the campus. And I honestly don’t know when to stop. My artwork or you can say we both decide that the painting is nearly done, and I stop.”

When we asked her how the pandemic impacted her and her art, she said that she was doggedly focused on her work during the past two years, and stayed away from the news, besides consuming the bare minimum. “I prioritised safeguarding myself and people around me, and was lost in my work,” she adds. While many artists questioned what use their art is during these trying times, Panigrahi was crystal clear about her purpose. No matter what, she dedicated herself to paying attention to her thoughts and work.

Digbijayee Khatua: “The drama in the blankness is what I am interested in”

Khatua has been presenting his works at the IAF since 2018. A recipient of a plethora of national and international awards, he received his Bachelor of Visual Arts (Painting) degree from the BK College of Art and Crafts, Bhubaneswar, Odisha in 2012, and completed his master’s from the College of Art, New Delhi in 2015.

Though Digbijayee comes from Odisha, the city life bears an imprint on his works – chiefly the urban landscapes and mindscapes he has produced recently. His sheer observation and measured strokes in his paintings are a testament to his principled approach to his work. His contemporary paintings sit somewhere at the intersection of the public eye meeting the private, a tread into the unknown, and a drama in its absence.

Khatua, who has been living in Delhi for over a decade, feels surprised when we tell him that his paintings have so much in common with the works of the much-celebrated author of paintings ridden with loneliness: Edward Hopper. Also, the changing colours on a pattern that repeats itself signal a Warhol-like art production. However, Khatua doesn’t know these artists. “From childhood, I have been drawn to dramas and plays. Maybe because my father used to write stories and plays in Odiya, which fascinated me a lot. When I started doing paintings, I had the innate desire to tell a story,” Khatua says.

He continues, “When I came to Greater Noida, where there are so many colleges and universities, it was bustling with the energy of students and everyone around here. But ever since the pandemic broke out, it got deserted. I used to see only security guards roaming around. Around that time, I just thought to walk around. Sometimes I would sketch what I would see and sometimes there was no need to document my observations: the sights would stay with me.” Regarding his latest work, which is on display at the IAF, he says, “I am awestruck by the way people do balconies in Delhi. They are perching outwards, and sometimes they are full of people or remain absolutely quiet. I was interested in the drama that the latter promised. For that, I changed my method. I broke away from the inspiration and started to combine this 3D effect into my watercolour works.”

Talking about the influences of his native place in his works, he says that “everyone is an artist in Odisha.” There’s no way one may not be knowing one or the other artform: be it Pattachitra or stone-carving. “I have worked with traditional artforms, but recently I thought of modifying what I used to do. I tried my hand at media art, but it didn’t quite work out for me. Then I decided to bring the action down. No more detailing, I thought. What I tried to do was take this risk of minimalism because even if you make a ridiculously small mistake, it will show on the canvas, so I wanted to do something I was absolutely sure about. I think I have found my strength in it.”

The India Art Fair is on till 1 May 2022 at the NSIC Exhibition Ground, Okhla.

Saurabh Sharma (He/They) is a Delhi-based queer writer and freelance journalist.

Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .