If home is where the heart is, Siddharth Kerkar finds a home wherever he
can pursue his art. Hailing from an artistic family in Goa, Siddharth is the
son of Subodh Kerkar, a world renowned painter, sculptor and installation
artist and the grandson of artist Chandrakant Kerkar. It is no surprise that
with art surrounding his childhood, he would be drawn into the world of art. “I
had been exposed to art from a very young age. I have always been attracted
towards abstract works, I love exploring new materials and textures. I
experiment with sawdust, cement, found objects like flip-flops, recycled tyres,
foam and resin. Watching patterns of sand on the beach and terrains from the
airplane fascinated me. Those images find their way in the geometrical patterns
that I create on my canvases using different materials and textures. I prefer a
minimalist palette and simple forms,” says the 22-year-old Siddharth.
Currently a student at Central Saint Martins in London,
Siddharth is pursuing his education in Fine Art and Sculpture. He was recently
a part of ‘Shred’, an exhibition in London at the Lotus Studio. The exhibition
included about 20 works by Siddharth and Edoardo Rito. “The abstract works displayed
revolved around the themes of construction and destruction of materials. I used
carbon residue from fireworks to create interesting burns and textures on paper
and canvas, while Edoardo created works with sand and mud on canvas,” explains
Siddharth. This was his second exhibition in London. His first group exhibition
was at the Candid Arts Trust, London in 2017.
His ideas find expression in the form of painting, video,
installation and sculpture. His work has been featured in several galleries in
India as well as internationally. He has also been a part of art fairs like Art
Bengaluru, India and Algarve Artist Network Art Fair, Portugal. He has also
been a part of group exhibitions at Gallery Attic, Panjim, Sunaparanta Centre
for Arts, Panjim, Kochi Muziris Biennale which is India’s largest contemporary
art event and Museum of Goa, Pilerne.
Siddharth, who runs his art practice in his studio in London as
well as in Goa, is also the brains behind Goa Affordable Art Fest, which turned
out to be a major art festival showcasing the works of over 1200 artists from
across the country and abroad. “Being the founder of Goa Affordable Art Fest, I
have already begun preparations for the 2019 edition of Goa Affordable Art Fest
2019 that is said to take place in December this year at Museum of Goa,
Pilerne,” he adds. Siddharth also helped his father, Subodh, to set up
installations permanently at The Himalayan Garden and Sculpture Park,
Yorkshire, United Kingdom.
What
will come next for this new age artist? “I’ve been giving social media and my
art practise an equal amount of time lately because I have free time in London.
I have also been travelling a bit and creating content over social media and
working for various brands. That has helped me experiment more in my art
practise when it comes to different mediums. I have started looking at creating
digital art as well so I think the next step for me is going more into video,
photos and gradually a bit of digital art, which will also find its way into my
art practise soon,” concludes Siddharth.
