AN exhibition of the enchanting paintings of prominent Goan painter Hanuman Kambli, was inaugurated by the wellknown Mumbai-based Goan painter, Anand Mohan Naik, at the Galeria de Belas Artes in Calangute, on February 16. comanised by the Fulbright Foundation, USA, the exhibition was to be held originally in Mumbai but was fortunately shifted to Goa, giving Goans an opportunity to witness the creativity of the wellknown printmaker, who figures among Goa's pantheon of modern painters.

Kambli hardwork and abundant talent earned him the opportunity to work closely with the students of the faculty of the Western Michigan University in USA, where he developed a series of beautiful etchings at the University's print workshop in 1999. Subsequently, these prints went on show at the campus' Space Gallery.

Several art critics have extolled Kambli's penchant for narrating Indian themes with a rich, traditional imagery. Charles Stroh, chairperson and professor of the Department of Art, Western Michigan University, finds that Kambli delves into religion, culture and nature to express the subtle contradictions of perception and reality.

The tone and line in Kambli's compositions come out vividly, dripping with rich perspective…in etching, engraving, drypoint, mezzotint and aquatint. The proficient printmaker's work is invariably split into three zones, often like the two halves of a door ajar to display another intriguing plane, as in "Dialogue I" (acrylic on paper 38 cms x 38 cms).

Kambli, who stood first in MFA in Fine Art Print Making at the Visva Bharati University in West Bengal's Shantiniketan, was an 'artist in residence' at the Wimbledon School of Art in London (1994-1995) and the Western Michigan University in USA, on a Fulbright Fellowship (1999). He has held solo exhibitions not only his home State of Goa but in Mumbai, New Delhi, London and USA. From 1986 onwards, his creativity has graced international exhibitions in New Delhi, Cuba, Brazil, Japan, Taiwan, Egypt, Poland, Norway, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Spain, Romania, etc.

Important fellowships, scholarships and prizes and awards began coming his way in 1978, culminating in the Fulbright Scholarship in 1999. Today, Kambli is an important, senior member of the teaching faculty of the Goa College of Fine Arts, Altinho.

The Art Chamber of the Rudolph and Yolanda's Galeria de Belas Artes in Calangute has emerged into a meeting place of artists of every calibre over the last couple of years. Of course, one witnessed the largest congregation of this fraternity at the inauguration of Kambli's show.

Rajan Fulari
Curator.

Pramila's Affair With Glass & Paint
Daniel F. de Souza

FROM preparing the balance-sheet at the bank, to a responsible housewife at home and indulging in her passion of painting, that too on glass, has made her popular and famous among the lovers of art, Pramila P. Tamhanker, originally from Vasco da Gama and now married in Mapusa, seems to strike a perfect balance between all three in her busy life, pursuing her goal with determination and dedication to make it big someday in the field of glass painting.

A postgraduate in Commerce with a Diploma in Computers, Pramila is employed with The Citizen Co-op. Bank Ltd. in Vasco since 1997. She is very deep into the art of glass painting, a unique and pleasing form of art. Having a penchant for painting right from her childhood she had the opportunity to attend a month's basic course in glass painting from Ms Varsha Kulkarni in 1990. Having learnt the basics, Pramila was egged on to work hard and experiment with this new art form. Hours of practice and the desire to excel in this field saw her developing her own style and improving upon the technique. Basically glass painting is nothing but the use of colours to sketch anything on a piece of glass and with your ingenuity make it come alive and real.

After eight years of hard work, trial and experimenting, Pramila had a considerable collection of her glass paintings, which were good enough to be put on display. With the backing and support of her husband Pradeep, she ventured out of the four walls of her home studio and exhibited her works at the Kala Academy in Panjim, in October 2000, which was inaugurated by the Governor of Goa, His Excellency Mohammed Fazal. "This was the greatest moment in my life, since I had the opportunity to expose my work to lovers of art at a public exhibition. All this could be possible only due to the unstinted support of my husband Pradeep, who is a source of inspiration and courage," says a beaming Pramilla.

The first attempt at exhibiting her works received a tremendous response from the lovers of art and it was success beyond her expectation. But her greatest joy came soon thereafter. "I felt really elated when I was personally asked by Mohammed Fazal, Governor of Goa, to do some paintings for the 500-year-old chapel at the Cabo-Raj-Niwas. The work involved helping to restore the glass panels of the chapel. His Excellency thought it fit that it would be symbolic to the secular image of Goa if a Hindu artist could do the restoration painting work for a Christian worship place. The restoration work of the glass panels for the chapel is being done in three stages. The first stage is already complete and the second one is in progress. The restoration of the glass panel will be taken up in the final stage of the work where the artist will be given an opportunity to work on the panel, the art design and pattern for which has been selected by His Excellency," says Pramila with a satisfying look.

Having tasted success on her first attempt, Pramilla had her second exhibition titled "Glass Expo 2001" at the Janata Vachnalaya, Vasco, in January 20001. The exhibition was inaugurated by the Revenue Minister, Jose Philip D' Souza, and lovers of art from Vasco had a good opportunity to witness a rare work of art with vibrant colours and vivid true to life images. The response in Vasco too was overwhelming as she says.

Pramila's art on glass involves various images from nature to tribal life and from the tales of Radha and Krishna to the temple sculptures. Being an exponent of Bharatanatyam herself, Pramila draws her inspiration for her various paintings from this art too. Some of her exhibits display the various poses of this dance form with discerning reality and finesse. The colour combinations and backdrops are soothing to the eye and befitting to the pictures depicted. The most unique feature of glass painting is that the artist's painstaking painting on the reverse side of the glass, produces something really breathtaking and fabulous.

Pramila says that the glass used is of a special kind, which is called the Modifloat Glass. Various other types of glasses like plain, tinted, design and mirror glasses are also used. It takes her around two months to complete one single painting which has in all eight different steps and a gap of 6 to 8 days in between. She normally uses oil paints besides various other types of paints like Glass Colours, Tube Colours, Fabric, and Glitters to cutting and pasting. Glass paintings has its origins in Thanjavur in the South India, according to this young artist.

The most astounding part of her art is that besides the glass her other raw material for painting and transforming into a piece of art comes from ordinary jars and bottles of varying shapes and sizes which a common man would rather throw out in the trash. With her ingenuity and a slight touch of art these are converted into beautiful pieces good enough to adorn your showcases and drawing rooms and dining halls. The reservoir of creativity flowing in this young and talented artist is truly manifested in all her paintings and creations. Moreover, this young lady has no reservations of sharing her ideas and giving tips on how to go about this form of painting. She says philosophically, "When you interact and share your ideas with others, chances are you will get more ideas from the others in return, which may further inspire an artist to do something great and truly creative".

Those who are interested in glass paintings and wish to adorn their homes with them can visit Pramila's Art Gallery at New Vaddem, near Saibaba Temple, Vasco da Gama, where her works are on permanent display.