New Delhi: The 16th solo art exhibition titled ‘Neo-Urban Avatar: A Mythopoesis of the Contemporary Times-II’ by noted visual artist Birendra Pani of Odisha was concluded at the India International Centre (IIC) here on July 14.
Organised by the IIC in collaboration with Purushottam Public Trust from July 1 to 14, the show enthralled the art lovers across the national capital. His contemporary visual language was admired by renowned figures from the art fraternities including Geeta Kapur, Prof. Parul Dave Mukherji, Prof. Shukla Sawant, Prof. YS Alone, Dr. Alka Pande, Ravi Agarwal, Inder Salim, former diplomat Lalit Mansingh, Director of IIC K. N. Shrivastav, and Director of India Habitat Centre Dr. K. G Suresh.
The exhibition, with the title ‘neo-urban avatar’ envisages a new kind of ‘avatar’ or ‘transformation of self’ to bring about a positive change amidst the looming concerns in the present time due to excessive urbanisation, ecological crises and negligence of local culture. It showcased 80 art works in five sections, from different phases of Pani’s 35 years artistic journey.
The Day Dreaming in Vadodara Series (1997-2002) of serigraphy-based prints contains work like Day dreaming in Vadodara, the Super Hero, the Fundamental Fulmination, the Evening cream- I & II, The Last temptation of Buddha, The Floating Heart, Paper Flower for your Sweet Heart, and other works foregrounding the concerns related to hyperurbanism, materialist and consumer instincts in everyday life which the artist encountered in Vadodara in late 1990s. Elements like capsule, heart, brain are the important visual ‘metaphors’, and kitsch, popular imageries and satire has been important elements of his art works.
The other works from the 365 Days Drawing Series (2010-2012) include fine drawing-based images showing “man whose heart is full of capsule; man eating and thriving majorly on capsules and without internal strength;, man eating objects, capsules as the external stimulus for love, emotion, feeling for happiness; men women completely immersed in materialist consumerist culture” and other works.
‘Capsule’ is a metaphor of excessive consumerist tendency in everyday life. The Handmade Memory Series, and Sanguine Story Series reflects (2016-2026) hyper urbanism but incorporating elements from mythological experiences, memory of the local culture, including elements of satire, and reimagining a new relationship with nature for a new narrative of change. The Urban Avatar Series (2020) of intricate drawing-based paintings works on canvas are derived from his everyday life experiences during his stay in San Diego.
New paintings the “Neo-Urban Avatar-A Mythopoesis of the Contemporary Times Series” (2024-2026) showcased art works in a globalized and technologized visual culture yet rooted in Indian aesthetic traditions, especially the Patta Chitra and palm leaf drawings, the monumental architectural and sculptural tradition, folk and performance tradition, and popular art of his native state of Odisha, Pani’s vibrant, colourful, and drawing based art works focus on unwarranted urbanism, consumerism, and negligence of the local culture in the present time.
Taking reference from the mythological narrative of Dasavatara, the images were embedded with the hexagons- the conceptual and visual metaphor for the concrete jungle, in our present. The Neo-Urban Avatar paintings referring Meena Avatar was shown with water in a dark atmosphere and in a gridded-sky rather than the open sky; the Varaha Avatar entrapped within the sky scrapers and the hexagonal structures and other depictions, the Haladhar Avatar invites a new connection with soil and nature and other depictions.
Along with art historian Dr. Rajashree Biswal, Pani is currently involved in various art and cultural activities through their initiative ‘New Bride India’ to create a new cultural sensibility and promote awareness among youth and public.
With his 16 solo art exhibitions in New York, San Diego, California, Kuala Lumpur, and in different parts of India, and more than 350 group art exhibitions across the globe, Pani has received accolades from the Ministry of Human Resource Development, the South Central Zone Cultural Centre at Nagpur, Odisha State Lalit Kala Academy Awards and other prestigious honours.
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