Spaces_is 9

art
Above: Women and Expressions - lovingly
portrayed females are regular features of the artist’s
works.
Left: Lord Ganesha - a favourite subject with artists
- here with a Shyam Lal twist.
Shyam Lal Shrestha is now a name regarded with high respect
in the art fraternity of Nepal. He has waded deep into the
depths of artistic waters, and has swum with and against his
own artistic capabilities as well as limitations. Initially a watercolourist,
he has experimented, or rather, explored, more
creative possibilities, with a certain amount of wise discretion,
and come out the better for it. Better in the sense that his
works are now quite easily identifiable as his own, and in
doing so, he has achieved a feat that most artists strive for.
His canvases, though oriented towards the abstract, are still
to a layman, comparatively easy to fathom, and so, appreciate
although he does admit, “I have still some way to travel before
I can claim to be proficient in abstract art”. This, perhaps, is
a knowledgeable artist’s refrain against painters jumping
towards the abstract and claiming to be adept in the same
before even the having enough knowledge about the basics.
Yet, it is true that Shyam Lal, even though so greatly talented
and so highly experienced, believes himself not yet ready to
delve into this final aspect of a well traveled artistic soul.
This gives conviction to the belief that art lovers can look
forward to the day this artist reaches his creative life’s
journey’s end and presents to the world, abstract canvases
that are truly so and not mere fragments of hurried hands
and more so, hasty ambitions as are evident in many artists’
works today. S
30 MAR-APR 2006 SPACES