From ‘Bori Arab’ to Jehangir Art Gallery



The speaking wall: A paper boat stays afloat in a puddle in front of the bright green and yellow facade of a house with a poster of blockbuster ‘Titanic’. Kishor Ingale names this as ‘Bada Ho Kar Titanic Banunga’.



The illustrious Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai will host ‘Walls That Speak,’ an exhibition of paintings by Kishor Ingale, from August 23. Working as faculty at Chitrakala Mahavidyalaya, Kishor, who hails from a small village near Yavatmal, believes that life is a study of contrasts

There is only one school, one bank, and a small post office in his village, but there is a river, too. Market place here, turns crowded only once in a week, but fields stay lush green most of the time of a year. His village is familiar with long hours of daily power-cuts, but also with the traditional earthen oil lamps lit in a temple every evening.

Kishor Ingale hails from Bori Arab, a small village, near Yavatmal, popular for the production of quality earthen pots. Presently, he teaches fine arts at Chitrakala Mahavidyalaya, Nagpur. Naturally, his art is an outcome of a comparative study of two lifestyles -- of a village, and of the metro city.



Going global: Kishor Ingle



“Life is a study in contrast, and this contrast adds various dimensions and depths to our existence,” says Kishor. “My paintings, mostly done in abstract form of ‘Graffiti Art’, are narrations of what a village boy feels when he tries to adapt with city life, and dreams to achieve something big,” explains Kishor, winner of countless awards and appreciations along with a scholarship by Central Government’s Ministry of Culture.
No doubt, the natural beauty with which he brought up in Bori Arab, gives a touch of tranquillity to his paintings while the experience of life in metro during his college days in Nagpur, and internship in Aurangabad brings sophistication.

According to Art Historian Dr Manisha Patil, Kishor’s strength lies in manner in which the strong and impudent images are de-constructed and assembled in a way to give then a new context. His works will be on display at Hirji Jehangir Art Gallery Mumbai, from August 23 -- a dream destination for every artist in India. It’s rare for a painter to hold a solo exhibition at Jehangir Art Gallery, even before turning thirty. Kishor achieved it so early because his paintings have not one, but many stories to tell -- tales of aspiration and rejection, failure and success, wealth and want, rural and urban.

His father Digambar Ingale, a retired ZP employee; mother Devayani; siblings Pawan and Yogesh, teachers from Bori Arab, Digras, and Nagpur, and students of Chitrakala Mahavidyalaya, Nagpur, are looking after this moment as a milestone in his career.

Cutting of the same article appeared in TheHitavada on August 23, 2011