Image Credit - Gallery Espace
The peeling layers of paint on a ship echo the philosophy of Sunil Gawde, a contemporary artist. Born and brought up in Mumbai, the 1980 graduate from the JJ School of Art took up a job at the Bombay Port Trust. He worked there till 1995 when he received the Charles Wallace scholarship to study in Glasgow, Scotland. The time with the Port Trust was well spent since Gawde's paintings reflected his surroundings: Bombay's dockyards and wharves. It is no wonder that he confides that the logic of his paintings is “to strip the over layers partially, so that earlier histories may be revealed.”
In addition, his year-long stint in Glasgow where he painted for a year gave Gawde and his work not only a spirit of contemplation but also increased his productivity, He held shows in London's ARKS Gallery and at the Mackintosh Museum in Glasgow.
The artist brings together an amalgamation of unusual perspective married to a high degree of aesthetic sensibility which is rooted in the tradition of being contemporary. A Mumbaikar, his art reflects the constant transformation that the metropolis goes through. Like his Bombay dockyard memories in art, Gawde has his roots in the contemporaneity that symbolises the city of Mumbai.
His artistic life history includes important stops at the 53rd Venice Biennale with the two-ton kinetic piece 'Alliteration' in the Arsenale 'Making Worlds'. This artwork was also re-exhibited at Kunstmuseum Bochum, Germany in an exhibition titled 'Sparsha' curated by Thomas Hensolt in 2014.
Gawde's focus on the difference between reality and perception, as well as their connections and extensions make him a much sought after artist internationally. He uses sculptures, paintings, and kinetic installations to highlight the absurd, paradoxical, and contradictory nature of life with different sets of visually stimulating opposites such as, soft vs. hard, round vs. sharp, etc. The artist uses methods that are different from others. For example, he uses trowels and scrapers used by masons and house-painters when he applies paints. The technique gives his paintings a layered depth.
While his artistic vocabulary transcends geographic regions and cultures, he vibes with the local context and is in sync with international trends. His technique of expression brings a touch of humor and charm but also encourages philosophical reflection.
Gawde has also done several commissioned public art projects, including a 3-tonne mechanized sculpture, 'Galileo and his friends left me with these moons…' (2012), as part of a HSR (high speed railway) Project by the Taiwan government.