September Issue 2000
Works by Santosh Patil Premiere at Hayes MacMillan Art in Boone, NC
Hayes MacMillan Art of Boone, NC, is especially pleased to introduce Santosh Patil to the United States with a special, two-week exhibition beginning Sept. 15 and continuing through Oct. 1.
According to gallery director Megan Hayes, "the gallery feels so strongly about this newcomer that it has rearranged its Fall season to make possible this introduction to Patil's new, high country, home community. We are also planning a longer show for next season that will be directed not only at our local community, but also at our Southeastern and national audiences."
Patil, 33, is a native Indian from the state of Maharashtra. He was born and grew up in the tiny rural village of Zidake, which is in the tribal area of the Thane District. Patil comes from a family of farmers, and he spent many years helping to tend the cows and working in the fields, but painting was his true passion, and he has been recognized as an accomplished artist since he was a child.
Patil grew up living with the tribal people
called Adiwasi (original dwellers of India). He loved to observe
their traditional dress, spend time with them in their mud huts,
and wander in the forest with them. He has great respect and love
for the Adiwasi folk artists, and through observing their daily
life, he learned much about nature and art.
During his college years, Patil had a great passion for the contemporary
art scene in Mumbai (Bombay). He went to many art exhibitions
and met the great artists of the area, but his deep love and respect
for the Adiwasi motivated him to return to his home area regularly
to research their artwork and to be with them. For the past ten
years, Patil has followed a journey of moving back and forth between
the two extremes that are the modern art of Mumbai and the traditional
folk art of the tribal area. This journey has taught him much
about the nature of art and about himself as an artist.
Patil speaks of the Hindu God Shiva's cosmic dance, which has no explicit purpose, but is the spontaneous expression of overflowing bliss. As far as this artist is concerned, that is how it is with making art. He does not begin with a plan, a subject, or an intention to make a certain thing; rather, he simply works until he reaches a place of satisfaction, and that is the painting. Making art, Patil explains, is a primary expression of his spiritual journey.
As gallery curator Lowell Hayes explains, "most of Patil's paintings come out of his spiritual discipline. Knowing this is helpful to the viewer, who may then infer something of the feelings that are expressed. In this exhibit, however, there are also a number of works that are movingly expressive of the artist's sense of loss - loss of the natural environment and loss of his native culture."
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