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Gieve Patel’s exhibition of paintings which opened on January 18, 2017 at the Galerie Mirchandani+Steinruecke at Colaba is a visual treat not just for connoisseurs of art but also for the layman who is compassionate and who can empathize with the sensitive portrayal of the human condition.

 

 

One of the most striking paintings in the exhibition is The Footboard Rider. It depicts a scene common to any Bombayite traveling by suburban trains. There is a riot of colors, carefully chosen, and the visual, once again a familiar one, is a man dozing while through the window we see the footboard rider, his hair blowing in the wind.
Also extremely stunning are paintings of looking into wells. In the one painted in 2010 we notice a bright vermillion "spray of blossoms” around the well and the reflection of the sky and violet blossoms within it. In his earlier studies too one saw, reflected in the well, the sun behind the clouds, inverted trees, palm trees, foliage and a full moon, However, in a more recent work (of 2015) modern constructions seem to be creeping into and eclipsing the lyrical beauty of nature as we see a tree eclipsed by four pillars.
Looking into wells has been a passion for Patel, a result of growing up in south Gujarat. "Some of these were deep, others small and modest and, during the monsoons, one could even touch the surface of the waters. To this day, I cannot pass by a well without looking into it,” he told The Indian Express (IE) of January 15, 2017. The symbolic act of looking into a well is relevant as Patel believes it is akin to "looking life in the face, of looking within oneself, a theme which is universal and inexhaustible.”
His sensitivity and his compassion for the human condition come through in his paintings of old age and mourners. The figures of mourners are generally against a pale background and their faces are expressive of pain and suffering. Even in a painting where the mourner’s face is hidden, the bent head resting on a hand conveys all that needs to be said. In Meditations on Old Age the brown spectacles on the face of a male protagonist and lipstick on the pale face of a lady render the works even more striking. One wonders whether Patel’s careful depiction of human bodies is a result of his profession as a doctor, but his preoccupation with "death and mortality are things all people have to face.” He looks at these subjects with a clinical objectivity.
Speaking of these paintings, gallerist Ranjana Steinruecke told IE, "There is a rawness and immediacy in his work which is very appealing.” This is evident in the stunning portrait of two men embracing (Embrace, 2016). It is not only the vibrant colors of orange and blue which catch the eye of the viewer. It is remarkable how Patel, in his usual subtle manner, manages to capture the affection, sense of caring, warmth as well as passion in this outstanding work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The artist does not always require vibrant colors; he can also capture the viewer’s attention using charcoal and graphite. In a triptych of Joan of Arc, inspired by the Danish filmmaker Carl Dreyer’s The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928), he depicts three compelling portraits of Joan of Arc. The studies seem to project the subject in successive stages of being burnt at the stake. The maiden in the first is transformed (in the second) into a calm and ethereal woman ready to face her destiny. In the third, one only sees the charred remains of a body which seems to have been totally consumed by the fire. Not a line is out of place. What seem to be scribbles are, on closer observation, carefully planned and executed lines. The darker shades at the bottom of the work seem to represent the wood and the embers whereas the lighter lines, flames and smoke.
What is evident in all Patel’s work is his perceptive powers of observation and the close attention he pays to his subjects whether he is looking into wells, at mourners or the aged. The works at the exhibition are the more mellow paintings of his later years compared with the more graphically cruel ones like Crushed Head  (1984), Crows (1999) which depicts four crows busily devouring their bloody prey, Battered Man in Landscape (1993) or Riot (1991) with a young man apparently in flames.
The exhibition at the Galerie Mirchandani+Steinruecke at Sunny House on Mereweather Road behind the Taj Mahal Hotel will continue till March 18, 2017. It is a treat not to be missed.