Rajesh Salgaonkar was fascinated by the beauty of fish and took his
liking for sea creatures to a whole different level, an artistic one. Being active
in the art scene for over 15 years, Rajesh wanted to feature a theme close to
his heart for this exhibition and hence brought forth ‘Entwined Beauty’.
A graduate from the Goa College of Art, Altinho-Panjim,
Rajesh has been a part of many solo and group exhibitions. “I was working on
the theme of fish fantasy since my college days and I am very happy that it is
finally on display. The exhibition has more than 50 paintings where each
painting has a fish blending with the other elements on the canvas. I planned
it for over a year and finally executed it,” says Rajesh.
Born and brought up in Canacona, Rajesh enjoyed the
sights of trawlers pulling up big catches which inspired him to recreate the
fish on canvas. “I come from a fishing community in Canacona. We owned fish
trawlers and I remember my childhood vividly, waiting for trawlers to reach the
shore and playing on them. The fish fascinated me and it is fulfilling to have
this exhibition,” says Rajesh. His paintings have been described as metaphors
for the mundane, as playful representations of ornamental sea creatures,
adorning and evoking feminine innocence and beauty.
Rajesh has used different mediums for the exhibition,
including mixed media, pencil, pen, dry pastels, charcoal and oil on canvas. “I
tried experimenting with different mediums but I loved using the pen on paper
as it is easier and free flowing compared to the canvas which has grains. The
pen is very handy on paper to highlight even the minute details,” adds Rajesh.
“I booked the gallery about a year in advance and I
knew about the spacing for the exhibition. Since the gallery is new, few art
lovers from the north plan to visit it. The exhibition is open till November 22
so I hope more people will drop in to see the works. The art scene in Goa has
dropped as there are very few purchases of artworks,” opines Rajesh.
‘Entwined Beauty’ is on display at Carpe Diem, Majorda till November 22,
2014. Rajesh will also
be part of a group exhibition featuring nine Goan artists that will be held
from November 7 to 9, 2014 at Novotel Goa Shrem Resort, Candolim.
