Permanent Marker is a group show of twelve young contemporary talents from different geographical locations and schools of thought carrying their own unique flavor. These young turks have come up with a fresh and dynamic approach displaying a wide range of their visual languages comprising painting, sculpture, prints and photography.

The textures, surfaces and drawings in works of Suchit Sahni are treated with secretive details only identifiable from close and these same images transform into simpler shapes, marks and blocks of colour when viewed from a distance. I don’t think it is necessary for the viewer to know that there are small sketches and imagery that is more recognizable than abstract. Masterly handled water colour by Rohit Sharma shows his romance with the roads of Delhi and brings out various shades of existence revering the holy animal cow. He does intricate drawing which shows the flowing detail of the work.

Satadru Sovan has limited his visual expression by painting on a theme of cyber networking sites like facebook, orkut for last few years. He is basically a figurative painter and he relishes the act of painting that allows for a transformative imagination to shape his pictorial language.

Kishor Das is one of those young artists who have been constantly painting and his visual language is evolving into a more ingeniously layered articulation over the period of time. He has explored and experimented with varied subjects and have sustained a dual commitment- to his social concerns and to his medium, to his subjects and to the making of his art, with equal sincerity and concern.

The most recent works of Santosh Andani has achieved a great deal of drama in his coloured palette, Andani has depicted the dream of Delhi ‘a metro identity’ by portraying Qutub Minar or lotus temple in the eyes of his protagonist.

Ambubhai Rathwa’s works evoke the reality around him with humor and irony. His paintings weave together the elements of personal, social and the political, manifesting a juxtaposed composition of the inner and the outer world, the individual and the society, the private and the public arena.

Unlike most other conceptual artists of Baroda and their narratives series, Hrusikesh consciously avoid the proper representation of human in his canvas. This apparently throws a comment on the urbanization and overpowering of manmade technologies.

Saptarshi’s canvas is joyful representation of children which is based on photo realistic medium. It draws the attention of viewer by the childish act portrayed on the canvas.
Another set of experimental work that have moved beyond the conventional format of easel painting and paved way for his own innovation is Chintan Zalawadia. His images are distorted or caricature indulged in various activities.

Lalit Vikamshi represents the contemporary pop and consumer culture in his meticulously finished colourful imagery that raises important issues with a sense of fun. He combines his interests in pop art, photography and advertising motifs.

Photographs by Sunando Mazumdar trying to reveal ones own fight with the self as well as with the society by naming his works “Hot Blue” & “Cool Red”. These works make a search of ones own inner self which has lost in today’s globalized world with consumerism.

Vikash Nand Kumar, Art Historian & Curator