Dhan Mill
Manish Nai
Indeterminate Traces
Nature Morte is pleased to present our second solo show at our Dhan Mill gallery with the artist Manish
Nai. For more than two decades, Nai has been indulging in the exploration of materials in the service of
making art. His works in two and three dimensions are the results of laborious investigations into various
materials (including jute, metal sheeting, old books, used clothing, newspapers, and concrete), exploiting
the inherent properties of these materials to harness their quintessential characteristics. His forms are
those of mundane geometry so that the essence of his materials may be better amplified.
The body of works at the centre of this exhibition is a series of new watercolours executed on paper (28 x
42.5 in / 71x108 cm each) in the past two years. One can say that they are paintings of watercolours, as
no recognizable nor representational imagery is attempted. Nai layers washes of colour on top of each
other, erasing and re-applying them quickly, as the pigments dry and set fast. With no sure outcome to
work towards, Nai engages in a playful chaos of creation and negation, until something resembling sparks
of light seem to emit from the paper's surface. Hence, the term ‘'Indeterminate' of the exhibition's title, as
the artist has no conscious goal he is working towards other than his own surprise. 'Traces' usually follow
precise outlines and have predetermined results, but with these works Nai maps the contours of the
unknown as they slowly reveal themselves.
Five more large-scale works accompany the twenty watercolours in our exhibition. In three canvas works
(66 x 72 in / 167 x 182 cm each), Nai has superimposed sheets of butter paper onto delicately distressed
sheets of jute, its warp and weft only perilously intact, to create gossamer screens without any pigment.
These are "paintings” of shadows which defy recognition, their scale imparting a strength which
contradicts their fragility. Accompanying these are a pair of works made from corrugated aluminium
sheeting (73"x56"/185x142cms each). Nai dabs these surfaces with strong jolts of colour, playing with and
against the undulating surface of the semi-reflective metallic support, achieving a syncopated abstraction
that approaches a Be-Bop spontaneity.
Artworks
Installation Views
