Art Kendra Presents Saumyaa Mehra's Solo Exhibtion of Paintings & Photography 'Promises Made Today' at Alliance Française de Delhi

Art Kendra 

Presents 

Saumyaa Mehra's

Solo Exhibtion of Paintings & Photographs

'Promises Made Today'

Curated by Dr Maurice Ryder
at
Alliance Française de Delhi
Chief Guest, Mr Vineet Joshi, IAS, Chairman CBSE

14 year old  Saumyaa at  the Art Kendra Studio.

Saumyaa intends to showcase her first solo exhibition of paintings and photographs, Curated by Dr Maurice Ryder, after a year long teaching period by him, through a regular and planned syllabus in the formal scope of fine art applications at his visual art center, Art Kendra, in Noida.

About a year ago, I asked Saumyaa to give a speech at an art exhibition. She had already done artworks and lessons with me. At the exhibition she said, “I wish we could turn the clock back and I could get an opportunity at the age of 5 or 6 to paint… and have the fortune of launching myself under Dr Ryder’s tutelage.” Her determined and defiant speech told me she was serious about going further into Art.

It was Mrs Meeta Mehra, her far sighted mother telling me, “You are the kind of person I was looking for to guide Saumyaa…” Thus began Saumyaa’s journey with me into the formal art world.

Saumyaa was signing her didactic paintings for the Curator’s File, in our studio, just the other day when she exclaimed, “I didn’t realize I had done so much practice work.” She has contributed over 41 didactic paintings to the File. 

From age four, the child Saumyaa, had shown a keen interest in scribbling, drawing and painting as all children of this age do.

At the end of her 13^th year, it was realized that she should embark upon a very formal training in the Fine Arts. This was made possible at Art Kendra where international teaching methods are followed. She developed skills in master classes in sketching and painting in all the mediums including mixed media. Dr Maurice Ryder, Director of Studies, Art Kendra, Noida, and Ms Manisha Sah the Senior Visual Art Teacher, guided her through sessions in Art Appreciations and she also completed a Foundation Course in Photography –  The Taking Technique.

At her forthcoming solo exhibition she plans to exhibit paintings in all the mediums, and showcase an array of photographs in multiple genres, demonstrating her proficiency with the camera too.

The opening day will be graced by the Chief Guest, Mr Vineet Joshi, Chairman, CBSE.


To see more pictures of Saumyaa at Art Kendra Facebook Page click on the link below :- https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.694033477308357.1073741829.190129934365383&type=1

©Photographs & Text : Maurice Ryder. Not to be reproduced or captioned.

 

‘Ahaana at 5’ : AHAANA MAKKAR the Child Artist

ART KENDRA 

Presents a Solo Show by

AHAANA MAKKAR 

 Child Artist

‘Ahaana at 5’
Curated by Maurice Ryder

at 
AIFACS 

 1 Rafi Marg, New Delhi – 100 001  

On view from 2^nd to 7^th April, 2013

Ahaana Makkar at Studio, Art Kendra

ABOUT THE CHILD ARTIST

The exhibition titled ‘Ahaana at 5’ showcases the paintings that Ahaana, a child artist, did at the tender age of FIVE between April 2012 and March 2013.

Thus, at this remarkably young age of 5 years, Ahaana became conversant with six mediums: graphite, charcoal, pastels, classic watercolour, gouache and acrylics on supports of paper and canvas.

The show is about how far a child can go with a teacher’s careful nurturing of the skills required in Fine Art, keeping in mind age, attention span and the subject matter from the child’s point of view. Rounded off it emphasizes education through art. “If children are to participate fully in their culture, they must master this symbolic system,” says Maurice Ryder, Curator of the exhibition.

Ahaana’s parents describe their 5 year old daughter as cheerful and pleasant and one who loves to draw and paint all the time.

Ahaana is very observant and focused in her attitude towards Art. She is a quick learner and her attention span is now surprisingly good for a child of such a tender age. She can sit for hours on a painting, and is only satisfied when she has completed it to her satisfaction. She is very confident of herself and painting always makes her happy.

Ahaana’s love for Art started showing when she was only a year old; she would only scribble then (the scribbling period).  Besides Art, Ahaana loves to solve jigsaw puzzles among the other things that any five year old would enjoy doing. She is very gregarious. From attempting formal scales on the keyboard to being the youngest on the tennis court, Ahaana is a winner.

Ahaana is a student at Step by Step School in Noida. She is in the kindergarten.

Ahaana was grounded into a planned approach to drawing & painting at ART KENDRA, Noida. Here she was made aware of fundamentals like ‘Fill the frame’, and, ‘Wait till the paint is dry’ etc. Her mentors and teachers are satisfied with her results which have culminated in a thrust to put up this exhibition of her works. In no way was her individuality or originality sacrificed for formal dogmas. From the very beginning Ahaana was nurtured in ‘Art’ to bring out the best of her talent. She can sit through 1½hr sessions enjoying every moment of it, and producing works of her own invention, always determined to explore line, colour and form her own way.

Ahaana's Action Painting in progress at Art Kendra

 ABOUT THIS UNIQUE ART SHOW

This exhibition demonstrates how ‘Art’ can be used in developing a child’s personality, cure phobias, eliminate shyness and other undesirable traits like tantrums, stubbornness, poor attention span etc, and is directly connected to Art Therapy.

In fact, the fundamental tenets of art therapy involve communication, control resolution of emotional conflicts through art making (American Art Therapy Association 1996).  As one therapist commented, ‘Like dreams they (children’s drawings) are an expression of their unconscious mind, something which is not normally accessible’. Ahaana’s paintings, for one, helped her overcome shyness, putting her on the theater stage and making her healthily gregarious. The exhibition ‘Ahaana at 5’ represents a rare blend of child artistic talent and the psychological understanding of the pictorial world of the child. A must visit for parents and teachers interested in children’s future in the visual arts and education through art.

The nearly week long exhibition, 2^nd  to 7^th April, also includes talks on children and their art, art therapy and live demonstration  by Ahaana along with videos of her ‘work in progress’.

Artist : Ahaana Makkar (Child Artist)
Title: Boats on a Lake

Medium: Mixed Media on Paper

Size: 15 x 21.5 inches

The exhibits speak for themselves and one can look forward to showcasing her works at the prestigious AIFACS gallery (All India Fine Arts & Crafts Society)  as an example of a ‘Child and her Art’, and that too a Solo.  

© Copyright Photos &Text Maurice Ryder

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