John Gilbert (b.1966) a native New Yorker who has lived in Mysore for the last seven years, is having his solo exhibition at Galerie Romain Rolland, in New Delhi from September 4 – 14, 2010.
The opening gala event will take place Saturday September 4th at 7 pm.
Gilbert’s inspiration for his art is mainly India itself. His art is at one time a contemporary, Indian-influenced re-conceptualization of Pop Art, while at other times plays with the intimate dialogue between viewer and piece through the transformation of found objects.
Gilbert first came to India in 1993, at that time, he was a self-taught carpet weaver and dyer, with a designer showroom in Manhattan, and arrived in India to build a custom rug mill. In India he found a new way of looking at life and he developed a daily yoga asana practice. Gilbert has been living between Manhattan and India ever since. Over the last four years Gilbert has more permanently lived in Mysore – one can see the local neighborhood influences visible in his art.
His creative journey has brought him from his early explorations in ceramics and textiles to other mediums – from teak sculptures to acrylic on wood. His show is comprised of these various mediums, and particularly the variations of the recognizable Prem, Yoga and Guru icons.
With artistic influences including Duchamp, Warhol, Indiana, Beuys, Borofsky and Basquiat, among others, Gilbert began to utilize words on found wooden objects. He usually begins a piece by writing a sentence, a thought, a place name, or a phrase – ranging from political affairs to personal relationships. These words often disappear under the paint, sometimes reappearing. Like Pop Artists, he also finds inspiration in commercial media: road signs, bus stops, billboards and images found on trucks throughout India.
In Gilbert’s capacity as an art publisher, he has been associated with the American Pop artist Robert Indiana. Indiana’s hard-edged style has influenced Gilbert’s own series of hard edge paintings, which also draw from Pop Art of the 60s-70s, yet are translated into a diverse Indian palette.
In Mysore, he seeks out master artisans to collaborate on the production of Tanjore and Mysore-style editions. These ancient crafts and materials use 22K gold and inlaid, semiprecious Jaipur stones. In Teak Wood sculptures he collaborates with a Cava academy professor recommended by his friend N.S. Harsha.
Mainly a self taught artist, Gilbert did study ceramics under professor Regis Brodie at Skidmore College. He strives for fluidity between two-dimensional and three-dimensional pieces. As a Pop-inspired creator, Gilbert loves to bring art to the people. He says of his work and vision, “I love to see art leave the gallery and the museum; to blur the lines. One of my dreams is to see my art on the walls of the city, in civic sculpture — in dialog with Indian culture”.
photo credits -Dorion Davies
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