An abstract of odyssey: Reflecting on change, art, and discovery
After a decade away from Indian galleries, Raghava KK makes a homecoming with a new abstract series that explores the boundaries between art and experience.
Raghava KK & his artwork (insta/raghavakk)
CHENNAI: Acclaimed artist Raghava KK’s multidisciplinary artworks reflect his dynamic personality and bold creative vision. After exhibiting extensively across the globe, Raghava returns home to Chennai after more than a decade with a new solo exhibition titled Figuring the Edge.
In Figuring the Edge, Raghava turns the canvas into a space of tension between body and image, figure and ground. The exhibition showcases a new abstract series that he has developed over the last five years.
The works explore what it means to define the avant-garde edge as the meeting point between two worlds.
“I am excited to showcase my work in Chennai because I have not exhibited in India for over ten years. It also feels like a homecoming to Ashvita’s, where I began my career more than 22 years ago. I have been working on this series for the past five years. Figuring the Edge is a metaphor for artists who live in the avant-garde. It speaks of the edge as he place where the inside meets the outside, or the boundary between two worlds. This series took shape during a difficult period that pushed me to reinvent myself and reflect on the rapid changes happening in the world,”says Raghava.
Raghava has built a remarkable body of work that explores the idea of transcendence in the digital era. He shares, “My brother Dr. Karthik Kalyan Raman, an econometrics professor at Harvard, is also an art and film critic. Together, we began working on a thesis about the future of Indian art. In it, we discuss how societal change involves three emotions: loss, liberation, and mystery. I believe embracing all three leads to transcendence and growth.”
Each artwork in this new series is, to Raghava, a philosophical question. “I have always seen myself as a storyteller, but I realised that holding on to a story too tightly can be destructive. Stories can both divide and unite people. This abstract series is my experiment with storytelling without a fixed narrative, allowing the figure to dissolve and transcend itself.”
Raghava also believes in constant reinvention.
He says that every seven to ten years, he changes his artistic direction, describing himself as ‘consistently inconsistent.’ For this body of work, he has painted with oil on canvas for the first time. “I believe painting is not dead. Even in a world driven by conceptual art, painting remains a vital form of expression. I have enjoyed returning to it, bringing with me the knowledge I have gained from future-focused projects.”
Raghava concludes that, in a time of constant change, the arts play an essential role in helping society imagine the future beyond the gallery’s boundaries. Raghava KK’s solo exhibition, Figuring the Edge, will be on view from November 7 to 15 at Ashvita’s in Mylapore.
