Namastey London!

An exhibition in London this weekend will showcase the expertise of two artists from Delhi — Alka Raghuvanshi and Naresh Kapuria. Raghuvanshi’s exhibit Wearing a Painting highlights the contemporary connect between art, textile and accessories. Kapuria, on the other hand, will be presenting 21 sculptures under the title Song for the Emperor.

Raghuvanshi’s artwork is a tribute to Indian craftsmen and weavers’ creative genius. “My work is a deliberate effort to mix art and fashion. I have made small miniature paintings that are then converted into jewellery pieces by attaching semi precious stones to it. Even the sarees on display have block prints, which are the replicas of the canvas made earlier”, says Raghuvanshi.

Besides this, the artist will also be presenting 12 straight canvasses based on the theme ‘Day and Light’, that explore the different sides of two extremes.

“Six of the canvasses have been made with a white background and the other six with a black background. Initially, it came as a big challenge as it’s very difficult to give shades to white, but then I worked on different textures to give it a new and different look,” she says. Artist Naresh Kapuria has created sculptures using burnt wood, paper and iron, that depict the tales of emperors who have lived and ruled through the ages.

“All my sculptures are around one foot tall. They are the faces of popular figures with a constant expression”, says Kapuria, who has more than 40 years of experience in this field and has designed several ‘Festivals of India’ abroad.

The exhibition will be inaugurated on June 12 at Nehru Center, London.