Amrut Patel

A sthiti ave kyare?

(When is this state anticipated to arrive?)

Curated by Urvi Chheda

What is the nature of an aware state while following a path free of representation and being objective? Is it authoritative or having control to create unnamed forms? Or is it the sense of surrender to the emerging configurations? And what are the various images of these non-objective forms? Do they retain formal representative characteristics, or are they at the complete disposal of the ‘present’?

Amrut Patel delved into the phenomenon of growth in non-living through neo-Tantra form and composition in the 1970s. Subsequently, the inter-dialogue between the assigned and unassigned spaces began to unveil his persevered style in narrating various subjects, ranging from history to mythology to political. However, the subject did not prevail for long, rather destined to effervesce in the subconscious that demanded a conscientious state—receptive, unhindered and productive.

“Despite expressing through a specific language, the one who identifies their own transcends the ordinary with purpose. And a visual artist, with a language of form and colour, who can stir the viewer with the same emotion, has honed and mastered the vocabulary. However, when is this state anticipated to arrive? The state solely arrives when the artist, in an unhindered manner, sincerely expresses oneself—the only space where surrender occurs—with effortless ease.”

This segment of Amrut Patel’s interrogation forms the curatorial of the exhibition A sthiti ave kyare? (When is this state anticipated to arrive?). The question functions as an inquiring passage—one through which the artist continually re-enters and re-engages with a timeless, objective-less realm. Featuring abstract paintings, the exhibition reveals the retention of space discretion and bears witness to the emergence of forms. The aspiration to sustain—or to ‘arrive at’ this state is central to the performative faith and persisting quest in Amrut Patel’s oeuvre.