Zen Vartan

THE ARTIST’S MONOLOGUE THE INNER JOURNEY The inner search goes on- it takes turns, at times halts at milestones, and the course of things go on. Mystics like George Gurdjieff, Lao Tsu, Rumi, Osho enter the course in the flow. The serene land of Himalayas also calls. Sufi music keeps humming in ears. Every moment leads to next moment. The present moment is then everything. Masters in fine arts at Baroda was in the flow. The turn on the path brought to Pune, live and work at my atelier. The search within took me to mountains for some length of time - to live with nature in solitude. Later an inner calling brought me to city- set my atelier to work and live with my family- wife and children. Then the art granted me the meaning of existence. Mark Rothko's paintings, some Sufi music and movies, and thinker's books fuelled me onward to reach the unknown. Now abstract is not identifying any meaningless forms in the habitat, or finding a simile in it...giving it a verbose title. It's actually the search within- wherein the spontaneity takes over and the painting is a happening. The manifestation of energy on canvass reached the level of abstraction and abstract motifs. Painting occur in the no mind state- the alpha level- and the streaming energy begins to fill up the blank space of canvass. Then the forms dissolve to formlessness and give rise to a new world of colours and unique textures in off beat media- all gaining an identity that defies classification. The energy asks for canvasses of large size. The media can be rice paper overlapped on canvass absorbing the fluidity of colours intrinsically- modified pigments of vivid kinds- the mixed media and the combination of different materials. Now- the paintings have arrived at a Zen visual composition. Installations in wood, metal, glass have also fond the outlet recent fascination. A visual feast-a fusion of avant-garde freely whirling ballet, colours, music and live painting happened recently at Osho commune, Westin Hotels, Pune and Kala Ghoda Art festival, Mumbai. A zen experience film will also occur- the faith tells me so. A group of exponents and the collective energy led to creative camps in Himalayas. The journey of Zen consciousness continues to work on the next creative series. Zen Vartan