It's a belt. It's a kite. It's 3D painting

3D-Painting

As you marvel at paintings of a kite dangling from a frame or a leather belt hanging from a hook, you're keen to touch them and double-check if they are real or just clever visual play. Little surprise then that Mumbai-based 3D artist Raamji Sharma, who has created a set of 50 such artworks, has titled his exhibition, Touch Me Not. A self-taught artist, Sharma has been practicing 3D art for 25 years and is one of the few Indian artists to have introduced this style of paintings to Contemporary art form.

Horses, oil on canvas

"No computer technology has been used to create this form of paintings," clarifies Sharma, adding, "I play with light and shadow, foreground and background colours, the position of the object, etc, to create the 3D effect. Each painting takes a minimum of two months to complete. As an artist, I feel closer to nature. So, if I create a leaf or water, I paint it as if it were real and full of life. The attempt is to make it look natural and not an imitation."

Attraction, oil on canvas

Created using canvas, paper, charcoal, pencil, oil colours, water colours, pastel colours and acrylic colours, every painting in the collection talks about life's journey and portrays emotions like happiness, greed, peace, love and respect. "My paintings delve into the basic life of the common man. For instance, in the painting titled Desire, I have used butterfly as a metaphor to indicate that human beings go after things that attract them and never wait for the right time to achieve them," elaborates Sharma. According to the artist, any type of painting can lend itself to a 3D version. "I can create a 3D effect on a floor painting too," he concludes.

The Ganesha, oil on canvas

Till: September 27, 11 am to 9 pm
At: Jehangir Art Gallery-Hirji, 161, B, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Fort.
Call: 22843989