Narendraraghunath

The Hindu: 03.02.2011

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Ahmedabad-based artist Narendra Raghunath studied Greek and Indian philosophy and mythology before coming out with a series of works now on display at a solo exhibition at Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra here.

“Through my art I have tried to explore the Almighty through Eastern and Western philosophy and mythology. Spiritualism is a sensitive and dangerous subject and I had to conduct an intense study. It took me two years of study to complete my work for the present exhibition,” says Narendra, who held his first exhibition in the Capital in 2006.

“When we set up a relationship, be it personal, notional or social, the foundation is faith. We build society, religion, nation, education, knowledge, innovations and development out of faith. Strangely, in spite of being the foundation for all material development, faith is not a material thing. Most developments that have materialised so far are contradicting and conflicting in nature and our efforts and energies are spent on untangling these conflicts. So I take collective human faith of supplementing or complementing our inability or ability for an artistic exploration,” says the artist. Interestingly, he was earning his livelihood in the corporate world before he decided to be part of the creative world. He worked in the toy department of National Institute of Design at Ahmedabad for three years and then as a textbook designer at Indira Gandhi National Open University. In 2006, he became a full-fledged artist. The exhibition is on up to this Friday.