Fallen

20"x20" Mixed Media on wood

Dear Readers.
I am pleased to give news of my artwork being featured at a rather popular and succesfull blog on Anna Calvi , my muse for some of my work .
I was interviewed and some of my work was put up on the website.
Also the Author of the website is in talks with people to put up an exhibition of works inspired by  Calvi in France . So keep your fingers crossed :)
Meanwhile an excerpt from the interview I have posted here, for more you can see the link given below
http://no-more-words-no-more-words.tumblr.com/post/31131273091/karan-vohra-india-circum-stare-who#Notes

KARAN VOHRA, India

*Circum Stare*

     Who –

Born on 22nd August 1992, art has been my passion for almost 11 years now. The ever changing spectrum of life that I encounter every day inspires me to paint. I paint what I see and perceive unconsciously. My paintings might not always be statements but they definitely show my personal journey with respect to the theme and otherwise. The themes range from explorations of human psychology (the human psyche) to journeys into India’s archetypal past. My choice of mediums depends on the strength and opacity of the feeling or situation that I am trying to express, consciously or otherwise. Ink, charcoal, oil pastels and acrylic give life to my thoughts. I am exploring digital art and hope to unlock more portals.. I am pursuing a degree in Computer Science Engineering (Currently in my third year). I hope to travel the world, absorb what all it has to offer and reflect it in my paintings for all the world to see.

My art has been exhibited at numerous places like Goethe Institut, Swiss-India alliance exhibit etc and more recently it was exhibited at

1. The Jai Bharat Centre in association with Zarah Delhi .

The theme of the exhibition was Tattva , broadly classified into Air, Earth, Fire, Water, Spirit and Shadow from 16th to 19th August 2012

2. Art  gallery called ‘Kuzart  Lane’ in Hauz Khas Village from 10th June 2012 to 24th June 2012

You can find out more about me and my art on my blog www.karanvohraart.blogspot.in .

You can contact me via my blog/facebook/twitter.

www.facebook.com/karanleovohra

http://www.behance.net/karanleoarts 

http://karanleoarts.artweb.com/ 

     Where & when –

A friend of mine who worked with BBC world service told me about Calvi.

The first song I ever listened to by Calvi was “Desire”. I was taken aback, thrilled to find  her .It seemed to me as if I always knew her for I could feel the madness, rage, turmoil and darkness assimilated in her music as my own, as a part of my very being sung out by a  Sorceress in a distant land. I paint only when I am truly inspired, I do not manufacture art. Her music rekindled the fire of desire.

     Why –

It seldom happens that the voice and the visual turn out to be equally powerful, equally arousing and inspiring.

Anna Calvi with her theatrics, rage, music and elements of macabre achieves that resonance between the visual and the vocal

 .

My muse through her music brought out a lot of emotions out in me. It was a vast pool where I could throw all my fury, anger, disgust, revenge, ego and yearning by being in a state of conscious exhalation. What came out was lust, courage, fear, the ability to love again and opportunity, not only as a state of mind but also existentially.Since once I painted these paintings all of the reflection came to life .

There are a lot of works inspired by Anna and her music they are

Untitled (Carnivore 3)

Untitled (Carnivore 2)

Harp Me Lustless( Carnivore 1)

Give Me Gray? No

Engulf Me in Darkness

Untitled work on Wood.”

Each work has its own unique significance

I have and shall write more about each of these paintings on my blog. (*If your readers wish to read that info here itself I shall send u the same J*)  

     How –

Harp me lustless , Untitled ( carnivore 2) and  Untitled (Carnivore 3 ) are all mixed media . Using ink, acrylic and charcoal I have created the works .

Making these paintings was orgasmic, I would paint while listening to Anna’s songs at high volume. Since it was never scheduled and rather inspiration/mood dependent I painted at times by the candle light, early morning by the sun and sometimes till the late hours of darkness.

“Give Me Gray? No” is like a nemesis of Calvi a reverse image and is made entirely with Charcoal.

Both “Give me Gray? No” and “Engulf me in Darkness” were made at the spur of the moment.

While the untitled painting on wood is a black and white painting made with acrylic. 

     Song - I cannot pick one, the entire album is a piece of genius. I am not crazy about Rider to the sea but it is essential to all other songs

          Phrase - “Love won’t be leaving”

.               Word -“Devil”

Tattva Exhibition

Hey all ,
As you all are well aware I had an exhibition at the Jai Bharat Centre in association with Zarah Delhi .
The theme of the exhibition was Tattva , broadly classified into Air, Earth, Fire, Water, Spirit and Shadow
The paintings I exhibited were called Fire and I am the torch bearer
. 

About the two paintings

Fire – 9’’X12’’

Mixed Media ( Charcoal , Ink , Oil Pastels , Acrylic ) on Acid Free Australian Made drawing paper

I Am The Torch Bearer – 12’’X16’’

Mixed Media ( Charcoal , Ink , Oil Pastels , Acrylic ) on Acid free cotton content water color paper

         The Woman in these paintings is a metaphor .The moments that these two paintings capture her in, are different. She imbues the tattvas, she calls to them and derives strength from them. These paintings tell a story woven around these very tattvas .The woman is a widow born centuries before, a woman who dared to love. She has a fire burning inside of her that gives her strength to fight all odds, even as she trembles and shivers as if hit by a gust of wind and a wave of water at the same time. When society tortures her and attempts to rob her of her fiery spirit, she takes refuge in the arms of mother earth. Its waters in the form of River Ganga help her take on this journey.

     “The woman in these paintings reminds me of someone who came out the other side of the pyre, alive and beautiful and whole, young and old at once

Is this exquisite woman poised on the knife-edge of tragedy or has the knife been through her many times and blunted itself? Are those dying embers in her eyes, ashes of resignation on her lips, or does the fire have half a mind to let itself be rekindled? Her eyes could be tired from weeping, bruised from assault, or that could be the protective kohl signifying her hope and the passion that cannot be stifled. They have burned her at the stake to quell her. But what burns within her is fire too, the fire of love and daring to love. The good fire and the bad one cannot quell each other, rather they stoke each other’s flames leading to uncontrollable destruction. So she quits this war of flames and turns to Ma Ganga for healing. She escapes into the lap of the waves or maybe she chooses to be embraced, engulfed, liberated by water?”

-Ms. Mayalakshmi Rao on the two paintings (Friend, Author and Art critic) 

Lines that speak about the painting – “Fire”

“Find the cost of freedom
Buried in the ground
Mother earth will swallow you
Lay your body down”- (The song is by Stephen Stills, 1970)

Lines that speak about the painting “I am the torch bearer”

“Tell me torchbearer, whose light do you hold there? 

Alone on the shore a brave wayfarer walks, undaunted,
against the forceful wind.
Would you light the path for her so she can make her way
safely to the crossing point before she wearies?
Or would you rather dim yourself
so the mediocre don’t feel unsettled in the glare?”

- Torchbearer by Ms. Mayalakshmi Rao, 2012

It was a fun filled 4 day exhibit

Prism Shoes

1. Prism Shoes - These shoes have a lot of psychedelic art quality to them . The colours of light strike a unique balance with the black background of the shoes . 

2.The design is inspired largely from the pink floyd logo from the cover album Dark Side of the moon .

3.Subtle use of the rainbow has been used just so as to drop a hint of colour here and there

Virginal Vanity

Introspection

The Eureka Moment!

You know life can be full of a lot of disappointing flashes,
And yet we need to get up,
Me thinks that my blog documents every time I get up.