|
|
|
Anil Revri respectfully portrays Islam in his latest exhibit
|
The
artistic process can be intensely involved or a candid burst of
genius. Both create worthy exhibits in their own respects. But
thoughtful artists take a gamble on the audience understanding their
concepts or branching out on a completely different interpretation.
Art
galleries, therefore, step in with slick press releases and program
guides to properly “introduce” artists’ work – or rather in
a way dictate what the particular exhibit is trying to say. For the
casual observer, this can be a good thing. But to the discerning
viewer it is inadvertently distracting.
But
with Indian artist Anil Revri it is a moot point. Read the
literature or step into his exhibit with a blank slate – either
way you’re in for a quietly uplifting, harmonic experience.
Revri’s
most recent 18-piece work was shown as New York IndoCenter’s last
exhibition last week. (The art gallery/South Asian cultural center
is closing down after a quick 18-month run) As with any serialized
abstract concept, Revri has chosen finely tuned blueprints of
internal ideas and thoughts and mutedly translated them to his
canvas. He has self-imposed, rigid rules of materials and forms,
allowing for an infinite allowance of ideas and emotions within a
strict structure.
Revri’s
concepts play out in premeditated patterns and thoughts, carefully
chosen texts and meticulously selected mediums, uniting to create a
deeply choreographed dialogue on the likeness of religious
traditions in a global landscape. Revri’s idea is simple, yet
ingenious. He addresses three themes – peace; desire, lust and
greed; and renunciation as shared by Buddhism, Christianity,
Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism – in that particular order.
A
graduate of Sir J.J. School of Art, Bombay and the Corcoran College
of Art and Design, Washington D.C., Revri took three years to
complete this exhibit. Titled “Cultural Crossings,” the exhibit
was displayed in Chicago, Washington D.C. and at the United
Nations’ Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual
Leaders in 2000.
The
drawings, done in various combinations of gold and silver metallic
markers and gold and silver graphite pencils on Arches paper
perfectly fit in the small, sparse room of IndoCenter’s
now-defunct gallery. The exhibit repeats patterns in triplicate,
with the first six playing simple architectural designs of arches,
windows and perhaps a table, with specially chosen texts focusing on
themes of peace.
The
only indication in the first six pieces of which religion is
spotlighted comes from the delicate border of language unique to
that religion. (Tibetan for Buddhism, Latin for Christianity,
Sanskrit for Hinduism, Arabic for Islam, Hebrew for Judaism and
Punjabi for Sikhism.)
There
is the second drawing showing two lovely simple arched openings with
a six-petal flower repeated in both. It is Christianity, with a
Latin verse from the Bible gracing it:
Do
not be conformed to this world
But be transformed by the renewal of your mind
That you may prove what is the well of God
What is good and acceptable and perfect.
Further
along we see Revri’s first vision of Islam, showing a rectangular
table with receding lines inside, and a group of believers circling
it. The accompanying quote is beautiful, drawing attention to the
peaceful harmony of those 22 figures poised around the table:
"If
two parties of believers fall to fighting, then make peace between
them. And if one party of them does wrong to the other, fight that
wrong-doer until it returns to the ordinance of God; then if it
returns, make peace between them justly, and act equitably. Lo! God
loves the equitable." (Qu’ran 49.9)
The
next six pieces still retain the abstract, perhaps more so than the
first grouping. They are mixtures of squares, curves, angles and
arches, still a mix of mediums, still bordered by language. The
patterns become more involved, more finite, with delicate
crisscrossing of lines and repeated shapes. The quotes revolve
around the second theme of desire, lust and greed, often juxtaposing
the lure of corruptible things versus the need for spiritual
guidance.
With
the third set we are introduced to the beauty of each language,
which is now illuminated within the borders of the artwork.
Revri’s form exudes clean lines bereft of flourishes, loops and
flowery styles. It’s like a font almost, allowing for emphasis of
meaning rather than form. The quotes honor a rejection of sin and
temptation to be rewarded with the greatest of all: Allah’s love.
The
16th piece comes again to Islam, drawn with gold metallic
markers and graphite pencils. The Arabic is beautiful in its spacing
and modesty. The quote is a warning to heed:
"Have
you seen him who makes his desires his god, and God sends him astray
purposely, and seals up his hearing and his heart, and sets on his
sight a covering. Who, then, will lead him after God [has condemned
him]? Will you not heed?" (Qu’ran 45.23)
This
exhibit, as Art in America art critic J.W. Mahoney writes,
“suggests a vast and invisible presence, created mosaically from
six equal vectors, an inner order so complete that its face is,
gently, everywhere at once.” You come away seeing the parallels
between the six religions in a marriage of text and imagery. Though
Islam is portrayed as but one of many religions in this exhibit, its
chosen quotes is wondrous in language and thought.
But
more than that it’s refreshing to see an exhibit absent of
artistic imagery frowned upon by Islamic sensibilities. There are no
figures, no nudity, nothing to distract from its emphasis on the
faith shared by many religions. As Mahoney writes, “To state, in
art, that the deity is greater than any approach to it can be, while
honoring each approach, an act of supreme diplomacy.”
|
