Amitesh Verma

After few minutes of your initial conversation with 30-year-old painter Amitesh Verma ( especially when you are meeting him for the first time), the chances are you might jump to the conclusion that he is yet another artist belonging to that league of spartans. Simple, naïve, almost non-chalant to worldly issues. “I am a targetless man” he declares matter of factly. One is bound to draw extreme conclusions if the prism applied to judge this kind of comment is purely general. But as conversation rolls further, scratching-the-surface syndrome automatically comes into the play. You simply do not need to put some extra effort for it. This young painter is driven by much higher aims than what a mundane mind can imagine, his pursuit are simply 24-carat artistic in nature. “ Art for arts sake”, that seems to be the sole rule. The remarkable thing is the nature of his expression on canvass which reflect relentless effort to know the innards to understand the truth lying within. As a teen, he was deeply interested in anatomy and that is what he is now blending with his artistic expression.

Born in a middle-class family in Patna, Bihar, Amitesh had a deep inclination for images, drawing since childhood. Perhaps this predilection was genetic since his father is a professional photographer. And he got plenty of encouragements from him when he was a child. But when he got into the crunch stage of taking a final call on the route of his life, he was dissuaded by many to adopt painting as a profession. “Kya karoge” (what will you do?), this was the question mostly posed to him. Amidst this perplexing environment, young Amitesh had even run away to a relative in Jamshedpur who was supportive of his artistic pursuits. “But soon the final call was taken”, Amitesh recalls. “I decided that come what may, painting is what I will devote my entire life to,” he adds. And soon he found his way to the prestigious College of Arts in Delhi from where he graduated and began the arduous journey of a painter.

The thematic crux of his craft could well be gauged by his own philosophical assumption, “ People rush for petty materialistic identities, forgetting that the self requires nothing but the truth from the within. Instead of searching elsewhere, one should look within to realize the ultimate truth.” “ Search within” is the key term to understand the deep-seated meaning of canvasses coloured by him. That also explains why in his paintings you may often come across why innards of a particular subject are so explicitly expressed. Observe his oeuvre minutely – be it the ‘family series,’ ‘ study from life,’ or ‘way to heaven’ series – there is always this consistent effort to present an x-rayed image of the within. Interestingly, anatomical presentation of his core theme is mostly expressed through horse. “Why horses?”, this question is posed to him. “Because they are never static. They represent motions of life which are present in varied forms,” he quips. “ But why anatomy as a serious component of his craft?,” one is bound to ask him. “ Because there is a serious co-relation with arts and science. In fact, drawing in any form is science first,” he reasons. Interestingly, Amitesh is a big admirer of Leonardo Da Vinci and views his paintings as symbols of the synergy between arts and science.

In his short career nay journey ( this is how he would like to call it), Amitesh has managed to draw enough attention of critics and arts lovers alike. He has participated in some prestigious exhibitions both in India and abroad apart from having solo exhibitions and has received accolades in abundance. His experiments with oil, acrylic, charcoal and even pencil have managed to create some canvasses which critics find unique and stunning. A major solo show of Amitesh’s paintings is coming up in the first week of July in the capital and he is fully geared up to once again mesmerize the art lovers through his paintings there. Since in his own words “ he is a targetless man who doesn’t plan anything when it comes to his arts,” there is no point in asking about his future plans. One can only wish him the best. That too for once, from an unblemished, unhindered within.