On the Roads

Saturday, October 10, 1992

Animesh Roy took his first degree in the Fine Arts from the Delhi College of Art, a couple of years ago. He has lost no time in getting ‘on to the roads’ to observe life, absorb experiences and just as swiftly hold his first soslo exhibition at the MEC gallery in Khan Market.

“I love travelling and there are very few picture places I have not seen,” says young Animesh proudly. His paintings, in sombre, acrylic colours and framed and priced moderately, zoom in on a little mauve flower or a string of white orchid blooms amidst a background of mild cerebral abstraction and fairly dense sanguine, wilderness. These belong to the series captioned ‘Left blooming alone’.

Among the other compositions, if you search, there will be a pencil thin silvery stream or one that is choked by Chinar leaves. Animesh has trekked far and wide drunk of breath taking Himalayan scenes.

No 12 is ‘Lost in the green’, but nowhere is Animesh lost or fumbling. His grip over the brush is firm and the colouration deep and disturbing. His palette knife has inured the credibility of texture and from of the rugged terrains that Animesh Roy has traversed.

Reminiscent of his southern sojourn and two vivid compositions of close ups of clusters of robust coconuts against palm fronds that splendidly fan out in burnished reds like Diwali fire-cracker display.

‘The red road’ is just that . Red? Depicting violence? “Actually, in some areas in Bihar the mud is bright red. I just painted that.”

Another composition of brilliant red foliage was also something the young painter had seen in Himachal.

Animesh Roy has participated in many group shows and his water colours are now on display at a gallery in Jor Bagh. He prefers acrylic because he cannot change his mind as the paint dries fast!

Animesh Roy is a very promising artiste and may quite confidently venture into a little more abstraction in from and theme. His 47 compositions on display at the MEC gallery are proof of the youngster’s enormous talent.

Vasantha Iyer
Mid Day New Delhi