SUNIL PADWAL: Giant-sized imagery
Sunil Padwal is known for his philosophical urban protagonist protesting silently against all manner of ills and his faceless faces have easily found takers at his overseas shows…but his recent solo show Numb, at Vadehra Art Gallery, Delhi, was radically different. Though framed in boxes, it was out of the box with its series of line drawings of insects symbolising our leaders and installations of instruments related to surgery – perhaps a solution to the country’s malaise of materialism and greed.

While the figurative style is his forte, Padwal is not averse to experimenting. In his first exhibition, he had reconstructed and painted objects just for fun…and now that he has gained maturity, he would like to explore that medium from a different angle – maybe for his upcoming solo show next year. What occupies him now is the imagery for his giant wall mural that has to be up in time for the Kala Ghoda Art Festival in February.

“My wife Tanuja and I collect inexpensive lights like Chinese lanterns, diyas, fairy lights, kite lights. We recently picked up some affordable lights from Milan…and we have a lot of candles. We love to light them up for the festive months and spend evenings at home. This year, our son Satt is almost three…big enough to understand what celebration is all about.”
(He is currently occupied with the imagery for his giant wall mural for the Kala Ghoda Art Festival in Mumbai in February.)

MAYA BURMAN: Illusionary story telling
Maya Burman’s paintings are bright, happy and vibrant like a hymn to nature and to womanhood. It is difficult to believe that the daughter of artist couple, Sakti Burman and Maite Delteil, began painting only recently, abruptly putting an end to her studies in architecture. “Painting came to me like a kind of salvation – like yoga or meditation,” says the artist who works with watercolours and ink on paper, with occasional touches of colour pencil and pastel. “I love the sensuous quality of paper… it’s almost erotic!”

In her ongoing exhibition at Art Musings, Mumbai, titled Once Upon a Time, she is a story teller who sometimes speaks of strange creatures inhabiting an idyllic space. Half animal, half bird, they personify the dichotomy we all face…especially Burman, who is half Indian and half French – a perfect blend of two cultures and two styles of painting. “If I wanted to celebrate an event in my life, I would invite very few people and have a picnic, maybe in a country house… or just lie down somewhere with cushions and music. The company is important. I visualise a tent and a gathering lit up with candles, preferably in a big garden filled with flowers and the fragrance of burning incense sticks. Light is like a living thing, it spreads a glow.”
(Her exhibition is at Art Musings, Mumbai, from November 2 to December 1.)