Bhuvanesh Gowda

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Bhuvanesh Gowda obtained his BFA from CAVA, Mysore and MFA from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. His prominent group shows include Limited Security/ Security Limited, at The Guild, 2009; “Studio Practices” at Chemould Art Gallery, Mumbai 2009 and “Group Show” at Project 88, Mumbai.

“Bhuvanesh Gowda is a master of minimalism in sculpture. In his early works done during the student days in Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, Bhuvanesh played around the idea of ‘objects and their use values’. It is interesting to see that Bhuvanesh carries on with his idea of minimal objects in the present suite of works, which are sculptures and sculptural installations. The notion of security comes into play in his works as the security of viewing and the pleasure of ambiguous threats that one feels in the process of viewing (a work of art). According to him, an onlooker goes into the gallery with a preconceived notion of viewing. Once their mental conditioning is collapsed, viewing becomes a sort of play; a play with the unknown. Bhuvanesh incorporates the idea of meditation and concentration and the insecurity that one encounters during the process of meditation. The question comes back repeatedly; am I concentrating enough? Has the ego melted down? Do ‘I’ still exist? Between the materialistic and spiritual notions of security, Bhuvanesh works oscillate with a strange kind of energy.

Both these ‘falls’ deal with the notion of security in a very personalized fashion. On the one hand it indicates the personal fears pertaining to acrophobia and on the other it transcends the personal into general. The personal fears become a stand in idea for the fear of the public. However, Bhuvanesh’s interest is in the minimal visual text that he develops for articulating it. Through an act of defiance ( in terms of using an uncommon medium in an uncommon way), the artist creates ruptures in viewing and at the same time provides the viewer with a different idea of looking at a work of art.” – Johny ML