Barua’s figurative abstracts enthrall

Rajkumari Sharma Tankha

Mrinmoy Barua’s bold lines speak for themselves. His figurative abstract works on display at CR Park Art Studio and Gallery are breathtaking to say the least. There is a work on Goddess Kali but minus the blood red tongue which the artist says is showing a calmer Goddess after she has vanquished the demons. A number of paintings are dedicated to the women, each with a lot of fluidity and energy that is shown through rich red shades with no base line. He paints the female form in all its hues and aspects, celebrating their energy, vitality and passion, portraying them as infinite, determined and sensuous.

“I feel women are the much stronger sex than men, and through my bold lines I try to show that,” he says.

Barua’s recent work showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a visionary accomplishing multiple tasks at one instant is something to be seen. More such paintings are in the offing, he says. The artist is already in touch with some Bollywood stars and a couple of politicians, for whom he wants to make such visionary paintings.

A painting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi

The Modi painting he took about two-and-a-half years to complete. “Normally I take just about 3-4 days to complete a work as I feel that the emotions and thoughts that go into one work change can be sustained only for up to five days maximum,” he says.

A resident of Dwarka (Delhi), Barua has held many solo and group shows, and sold a lot too, but he doesn’t get associated with any gallery. “Except for Ati Art Gallery at New Friends Colony, I have not got attached to any as I never found the need to do so. Big corporates and business families buy my works and I am satisfied with that,” he says.

One thing that stands him apart from many other artists is that Barua works only with acrylic on canvas, rarely using any other medium. And he works for just about 3-4 hours a day. “That’s more than sufficient. No artist can work for more than this time in a day,” says Barua, who is also the Head of Department of Art at Raisina School, Mandir Marg, New Delhi.

Interestingly, it’s his abstract art that is sold more than the figurative abstract work. “Though, I enjoy the figurative abstract more, it is pure abstract work that is sold more,” he says.

Today, you can see lots of red and orange in his works, but there was a time when he was scared of these colours. Then in 2004, his father fell sick during which period he donated blood so many times that his fear of red vanished. “I saw so much blood at that time that I stopped fearing it,” he says.