Art Musings is presenting a solo exhibition of Alibaug-based artist Nikhil Chaganlal entitled 50 Revolutions around The Sun on 5 December 2011. The opening coincides with the artist’s 50 birthday, and to celebrate it, the show features 50 acrylic works on Masonite board, depicting his famed portraits. Says Chaganlal, “By exploring the faces, I embark on a journey into the innermost soul of the subjects of the portraits I create – known and unknown. I struggle to create a direct dialogue between my work and the viewer, thus producing an expression in each of the 50 faces that is unique and typical for this particular subject.” Over the years, Chaganlal has developed a unique technique of painting on Masonite. He uses acrylic combined with oil paints and chemical sealants. He almost always paints at night by candlelight, giving his work a gentle luminosity. The entire process is time consuming – the works are multi-layered, with each layer needing to dry before he can work on it again. Once the layers have reached a significant impasto look and feel, the work is ready to be sealed chemically rendering the work 100% waterproof and scratch resistant to any kind of wear or damage.
05.12.2011 – 07.01.2012