I ended up in Delhi the day before Paysage Ephemerale – Anju Chaudhuri‘s solo art show at the Art Magnum gallery. I have a strong feeling for her work for several reasons: one, it is similar – in spirit and even form perhaps – to what I do, although I had never seen her work before, and two, she is a wonderful and caring artist who invited us to her studio in Paris in 2018 – which was a memorable experience for me. I’ll come back to her Parisian studio later, so let’s look at Paysage Ephemerale – which translates to “Ephemeral Landcape.”
For me, these are not so ephemeral, and the landscape may really include mindscapes – different states of emotion.
close up of Anju Chauduri’s unique style
There’s a beautiful, controlled violence in her work – which I identify with – across all her work. Zooming in lets you see this. Up close, her work is not for the timid.
middle zoom – another view of the same work
The zoom-in and zoom-out views reveal the genius of her artistry – because there is a great intuitive symmetry that reveals itself at a distance. The randomness in not random.
zoom out – the complete work at a distance
At the show, Chauduri was surrounded by fans and well-wishers. Among them I saw Alka Pande, Romila Thapar, Raghu Rai, Probir Gupta, Jyotirmoy Bhattachary, Cecile and Thierry Mathou, Maite Delteil, and and other culturati I didn’t recognize.
Alka Pande and Anju Chauduri
View the full show here >>