The Gallery at Queen’s Park presents:
“Background for Thoughts”
by Abhisek Mukherjee
Exhibition Dates: March 4 – 29, 2020
Opening Reception: Wednesday, March 4, 2020, 6-8pm
Artist Talk: Sunday, March 15, 2020, 3-4pm
Free Admission.
EXHIBITION STATEMENT
For Abhisek Mukherjee, life is a series of breaths. To perceive only when the seer and the seen are perfectly aligned signifies a connection between them, and fosters an environment of stewardship.
Mukherjee’s work is a medium intended to create a sense of awareness, inviting the viewer to interact with nature. We often identify the most significant places in our childhood with the outdoors, and experience the natural environment in a deep and direct manner—not simply as a background for events, but as a factor and a stimulator. An experience where one is involved, with one’s body, senses, and awareness, is likely to be etched in memory for a long time, and a sympathetic attitude toward nature to resonate in one’s memory.
Through inspiration derived from a love of nature and the experience of solitary walks, Mukherjee explores relationships between time, distance and dimensions. His work unveils surprising coincidences and remarkable affinities in the way we look at a view—whether near or far, high or low, or from inside out.
ARTIST BIO
Abhisek Mukherjee was born in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), a pioneering city in Indian renaissance, a place long known for its literary, artistic and revolutionary heritage. Mukherjee has taken a keen interest in art and design since childhood, and holds a Master of Design from NID, a premiere design Institute in India. He is a biophilic sculptor, using elements from nature to create scapes and installations. His early work also includes photo-documentaries and clay models. An apparel designer by profession, he is a winner of Best Collection at Max Design Award (2014) and has worked as a designer at Ed Hardy.
At the age of eight, inspired by his father, Mukherjee made his first plant-scape and developed an interest in “painting” with plants; he would collect and bring home natural pieces with which to create eclectic art. He has recently moved to Vancouver, a city abundant in nature that serves as a muse reflective of his art forms. Mukherjee has started a line of planters and handmade cards called Buno, which means “wild” in Bengali, his mother tongue.
Mukherjee’s key purpose and ideology in creating bio designs is to establish a connection between art and its collector. Having seen much magnificent artistry gathering dust, he prefers to explore a medium wherein a user interacts with the sculpture. He celebrates the importance that plants hold in our lives and hopes to someday open a gallery inside a greenhouse.
