Shrikant Kolhe

Born in Nagpur, 1965

Education:

Batchler of Fine Arts, Applied Art, Chitrakala Mahavidyala, Nagpur.
Art Teacher Diploma, Directorate of Art, Maharashtra, Nagpur,

Solo Exhibitions:

2007 – Alankrita Art Gallery, Hyderabad
2003 – Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai

Group Exhibitions:

2012 – Rainbow Art Gallery, Mumbai
2010 – ICONART Gallery, Hyderabad
2007 – Studio Nepean, Mumbai
2007 – Indian Fine Arts Network, Annual Exhibition, Jakarta, Indonesia
2007 – PLATFORM Art Show, New Delhi
2006 – Inaugural show, KALAHITA, Nagarjuna Art Foundation, Hyderabad
2006 – Indian Fine Arts Network, Annual Exhibition, Jakarta, Indonesia
2005 – Scribble-Artist Together Annual show, Hyderabad
2005 – Indian Fine Arts Network, Barli museum, Bandung city, Indonesia
2005 – Scribble-Artist Together, Tsunami Relief fund, Hyderabad
2004 – Scribble-Artist Together Annual show, Hyderabad
2004 – IIID-Showcase 2004, Nehru Centre, (Indian Fine Arts Network),
Mumbai
2004 – Indian Fine Arts Network, Annual Exhibition 2004, Jakarta, Indonesia
2003 – Scribble-Artist Together Annual show, Hyderabad
2002 – Barsana Laagi Monsoon Show, Diara – Center for Arts & Culture,
Hyderabad
2002 – Millennium All India Art Exhibition 2000, the Hyderabad Art Society,
Hyderabad
2000 – Lakshana Art Gallery, Hyderabad
2000 – Western Railway, Rail Rang Shatabdi, Mumbai
2000 – Kala Mandir, Hyderabad
2000 – Society to Save Rocks, Hyderabad
2000 – Wash 2000, Wildlife Art Show, Hyderabad
1997 – South Central Zone Cultural Center, Nagpur
1996 – Kala Mandir, Hyderabad
1987 – South Central Zone Cultural Center, Nagpur
1987 – Kalidas Mohatsova, Ramtake
1984 – Koratkar Art Gallery, Hyderabad

Awards:

1988 – Kaladirgha Art Exhibition, Tumser
1987 – Kaladirgha Art Exhibition, Tumser
1985 – Nagpur University Diamond Jubilee Celebrations, Nagpur
1984 – All India Art Exhibition, Raipur
1983 – All India Art Exhibition, Raipur

Comments of the artist :

The concept of LifeCorner in my paintings has evolved over the years, but at the core it is about that corner – a special place where one spends most of his time: thinking, reminiscing or whiling away time. A special place in a room or a house where you are at peace with yourself. That’s Life Corner to me. Stark and real.

The sun is the creative source, the unfettered creativity of nature. So the sun is the ultimate metaphor for imaginative creation. And, from Sun comes Light, the essence of life; the very source of life. Light determines the seasons and light stands for enlightenment brought about by a new understanding. The sun is the source of light, the generative energy of all life and change, the personified source of the imagination
Light does not necessarily imply heat, as heat is one of the effects produced by the Action of light on matter. The term cool radiance has its physical application in the light of phosphorescence. Light becomes relative on manifested planes, its correlative being darkness, which to other beings may be light, while our light may be their darkness. Again, what is light to beings on a higher plane of perception may be darkness to us, because it does not impress our senses.
Surround yourself in light. Feel the gentle presence of divinity all around you. Gentle Omnipresent Divinity: always present as a soft, living light in all beings. This transparent radiance permeates all things.
Darkness is not the opposite of light; it is the absence of light. From darkness to light; from ignorance to knowledge. These paintings take inspiration from this thought and create a play of light; the shaft focusing on the subject brings out the character in a unique and real self. Light, in other words, ranges from the arcane of cosmic being to the physical light that turns the vanes of creativity. It is all there to see in the fluid paintings that border on reality in a stark manner.
In this series, I have experimented with color to my otherwise black & white works. I firmly believed that only black & white can do justice to this theme as it captures light-play in its true sense. But, when I started playing with color, I realized how the colors – yellow, magenta, blue, brick red- lend themselves beautifully to the series. It gave a new perspective, a new dimension and a new vigor to my brush strokes. While the light puts a spotlight on the Life Corner and elevates objects in its vicinity – crumpled newspaper, pens, functional furniture made of wood, steps, stairways and arches; giving the whole feel of a gothic living space, but the color gives a texture to the rest of the painting. A world of contrasts and of paradoxes, just like life.
Every creation or Uttpatti is incomplete without Light. This relationship between Uttpatti and Light forms the basis of this series of paintings.