We are all so accustomed to looking at a canvas on a wall. Granted, many spectacular things have been created this way, but after a while, one begins to wonder, ‘is there no way to go forward from this?’. Sen Shombit’s show “Dèsordre” is testament to the fact that the canvas continues to evolve and take new form.
Using several smaller canvases at different angles to create installation art, he takes the notion of what we consider to be traditional and spins it on its head. Of course, the main focus of the exhibition was Gesturism. Bright, almost neon colours have been used in expressive strokes, sometimes using knives and barriers on the canvas to create layers of light and dark.
Contrasted with the first floor, the second was an explosion of colour and culture, with Shombit’s famous art car transferred onto canvases, each one showing us an unique perspective on what is considered to be quintessentially Indian.
A large, enclosed piece of floor had the artist’s palettes that he had used throughout the process. A wise decision as one may mistake his paintings to be a flood of bright colours and that alone. Here, we could see the astounding array of shades, tones and colours used by the artist. In a single installation, the entire exhibition was tied together in these palettes.
However, the most impressive pieces are undoubtably the installation canvas pieces. They challenge the viewer to view art in a different way. The scenes are muddled, and one has to work with the colours and shapes on each piece from different angles to come to a conclusion that may or may not satisfy them.
I spent about 20 minutes trying to decipher a piece whose parts were jumbled, as though the intent of the artist was for us to solve the painting. However, as I walked away from it, annoyed and frustrated that I could not figure it out, it dawned on me that I have never seen an art piece that had challenged me in this way.
The exhibition is experimental, brave, beautiful and challenging. It is not for those whose tastes lie in the more traditional. However, if you are up for a challenge, this is the exhibition to visit.
The writer and reviewer, Jehan Vazifdar, is an aspiring fashion designer. An illustrator and art enthusiast, you can check out his Instagram page here
Sen Shombit is an Indian-born contemporary artist from France. Check out more of his work here.