"Being in nature’s presence motivates me to capture its essence,” states Poona based artist Hoshnar Kaikobad. "The different hues during different times of the day… the colors of the changing seasons fascinate me,” he told Parsiana while his fourth solo exhibition, "A walk in nature,” was on display at the Nehru Centre between October 1 and 7, 2024. Sixty of his works were on show, ranging in size from 16” x 12” to 4 ft x 3 ft.
"Although I paint other subjects like figures and still life, in this exhibition I wanted to focus only on natural beauty…Most of the paintings are of scenes and places I have visited… from Ladakh… North East India… Goa… Paris… Each territory has different colors and hues…When you are alone and are one with nature…you feel a little relaxed…the calmness comes across… That is the way I want my viewers to feel when they see my works,” he stated.
Above: Hoshnar Kaikobad and his "relaxing and calming paintings”
Kaikobad stated that for this exhibition he got out of his comfort zone, painting larger canvases and dabbling with the palette knife along with brushes. "An artist should have no boundaries… I wanted to see if I could do it.” Kaikobad’s Instagram page quirkily states: "Because I am not an artist,” elaborating he does "not want to be put into any box or category.” An admirer of the Renaissance painters (the distinctive style that emerged in Italy in 1400 AD), Kaikobad stated that among Parsi painters he admires Manchershaw Pithawala (1872-1937).
An alumnus of Poona’s St Vincent’s High School and Abinav Kala Maha- vidyalaya, his curriculum vitae includes graphic designing and art consultancy from 2004-2007. Kaikobad has been a part of the faculty of fine arts, of creative arts and fashion design institute FAD International. Father Bomi is a retired banker and mother Pervin a home maker. Brother Porus is in the hospitality business based in Dubai. Calling himself a liberal in matters of religion, the sudreh-kusti wearing artist states he is "quite open minded… but I do not follow religion much… I am not very staunch… I believe in live and let live.”
Where does Hoshnar see himself in the next 10 years? The painter, who turned 40 early this year, said he would like to try his hand at sculpture. F. J.