The object of art is not to reproduce reality, but to create a reality of the same intensity, a Swiss sculptor and painter Alberto Giacometti had said. The artist’s art is a manifestation of a personal journey, feels Chandigarh-born visual artist Gagandeep Singh. Chandigarh with its architecture and beautiful landscape has influenced his journey in a big way. “This kinship forms the basis of my art in which the patterns from architecture and the shapes of Nature are taken as inspiration to create artworks,” says Gagandeep, a professional sculptor, muralist and graffiti artist.
After teaching art in Tricity schools, Gagandeep is now focusing on his own art business, where he is creating a brand under the name ‘Crimson Arts India’. He holds a Master’s degree in Sculpture from the Government College of Art, Sector 10, Chandigarh, where he spent six years learning multiple disciplines like sketching, painting and calligraphy and getting a specialised master degree in sculpture.
“There is an eternal love for teaching so I still work with institutes like Chitkara University and Chandigarh Group of Colleges as a guest lecturer,” says Gagandeep, whose early inclination towards art came from comics and the desire to draw different characters. It’s been seven years now that he has been working as a full time professional.
The walls of many cafes, offices and restaurants in and around Chandigarh are adorned with his works like Brooklyn Central, Kala ghoda, Social, Elante, Athelonics gym, Castle Grill, Prepladder office IT park, Bollywood gully, the village, Dainik bhaskar office and Myfm office. “Currently I am working with a brand consultancy, a few architects and hospitals which is a new experience for me. I am also working on calligraphy. There is a particular style which I work in and clients are loving that style so I am experimenting to create a series of new calligraphy artworks in that particular style only,” he says about how an artist needs to keep upscaling himself.
Talking about how the art scene in the Tricity has changed over the years, “More people want art pieces for their residences and offices, there are more art exhibitions than earlier and there is regular work in the market for artists”.
However, one of the issues that hurts him the most is how customers don’t understand the difference between a handmade or hand painted artwork and the digitally printed counterparts. “They don’t want to pay an artist enough because there’s a cheaper alternative available in the market. Initially art was not meant for the common people, it was always commissioned by kings and subsequently made keeping their interests in mind. But these days we need a good amount of affordable art which is accessible to commons. And to make this work, there should be awareness about art appreciation, it should be taught in schools and colleges so that the coming generations are able to understand and appreciate art and the artist better,” he says.
