Nature Morte

K.P. Reji

16 Apr - 16 May 2009

© K.P. Reji
To Move the Mountain, 2009
Oil on canvas
72" x 82" (183 x 208 cm)
K.P. REJI
'with a pinch of salt"

April 16 to May 16, 2009

Nature Morte, in association with The Guild Art Gallery of Mumbai, is pleased to announce the opening of a solo exhibition of new works by K.P. Reji on April 16th at Nature Morte Annex. The exhibition will continue through May 16th.

"It's a delight to find paintings in the common and everyday..." -K.P. Reji

Baroda-based artist K.P. Reji continues with his investigations into the vernacular and commonplace in India with his latest body of works. In six large paintings and two wall-based sculptures, Reji examines the quotidian and its relationship with a larger body-politic. His works use images of families, couples, homes and objects to reflect on the larger constructions of community and nation. He examines the meeting points between "tradition" and the "modern" and how these are reflected in the way people live. Reji's figures are rendered at moments of personal intensity – during sleep, at play, setting up a house or making love – and juxtaposed for poignant effect. His theatrical images are composed of a variety of vignettes, implying both narrative and a larger historical viewpoint.

Born in Kerala in 1972, K.P. Reji holds both a BFA and an MFA in Painting from the Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University, Baroda. He has had three solo exhibitions with The Guild Art Gallery in Mumbai and has participated in many significant group exhibitions, camps and workshops both in India and abroad, including: "Horn Please" at the Bern Kunstmuseum in Switzerland; "Beyond Credos" at the Birla Academy in Kolkata; "Double Enders," a travelling exhibition curated by Bose Krishnamachari; and "Are We Like This Only?" at the Vadhera Gallery in New Delhi. The Guild Art Gallery has featured his works at a number of international art fairs included ShContemporary in Shanghai, the Miami Art Fair, and Miart in Milan. In 2007, Reji was awarded the Sanskriti Award for Young Artist by the Sanskriti Foundation in New Delhi. The artist lives and works in Baroda.