A political trait, a revolutionary take, a comrade’s view, a passionate desire, a treacherous tyrant, a spiritual symbolism- an exploration of the various connotations of the colour red.

Red is a complex and powerful color and is considered to have the greatest impact on the human psyche, understanding its symbolic meaning, allows us to comprehend the subtext of the world in the idiom of color.

Red room as a show brings out the complexities and emotions of the colour red; different cultures have different views on the meaning of the color and can emphasize different things with mere thoughts of the color.

The works in The Red Room are by eight artists from different cultures and traditions, with diverse inspiration and intentions yet the common thread running through their artwork is the undeniable powerful reaction they invoke.

Once you enter the red room you are overwhelmed by the sensation of the room evoking you as a viewer to observe, absorb, and react to the works.

On one hand we have works by artists like Abul Kalam Azad, Anoop Kamath, Prasad Raghavan and Raghu Neware who have used red dominantly in their works as a symbolism for violence, strife, courage and spirituality. These artists use the strength and intensity of red to engage the viewer completely quite similar to the deliberate use of intense reds by Edvard Munch to enhance raw emotion and terror in his famous painting, The Scream.

On the other hand we have artists like Ravi Kashi and Dhanur Goyal who haven’t emphasized on the colour red in their works, they instead have very astutely added a subtext to their works; they represent in their works the message of non-violence, peaceful dialogue, tolerance, compromise and peace which are far removed from the emotions traditionally associated with the colour red.Gargee Ghosh’s installation works bring into play, questions of authorship, of culture, and the endless journey of power struggle and feminist ideals. She tries to look out for emancipation of the cosmopolitan culture of glaze and glitter and the never ending consumerist culture. In the same manner Saptrshi Das’s works depicting hand pulled rickshaws and the hammer and sickle clearly talk about injustice and revolution. He believes that art is a part of socialism and it can raise questions on social issues and the unfair social structures and thereby bring about positive changes. A walk through the red room is undoubtedly a journey of experiencing the various emotions and implications associated with the colour red which the artists have brilliantly put across through their works.