SATORI
Paintings of Buddha, the Enlightened One, by Chelian.
At Forum Art Gallery 20th October to 10th November 2010

Forum Art Gallery presents SATORI, paintings of Buddha, the Enlightened One, by Chelian.

Satori maps Chelian’s artistic prowess to capture on canvas, the essence of The Enlightened One, the Buddha. Endowed with a unique sense of perception and  technique , Chelian’s works resonate with the calm, the spiritual balance and the mantra of peace that reverberates in a space that is filled with the attributes of the Buddha.

Satori is a Japanese Buddhist term for enlightenment that literally means "understanding". In the Zen Buddhist tradition, satori refers to a flash of sudden awareness, or individual enlightenment, and is considered a "first step" or embarkation toward nirvana.

Chelian is an accomplished artist who has exhibited at both the state and national level within India, as well as internationally. Satori is his 32nd solo show and has participated in many artists' camps and workshops. He has  published three books on painting and sculpture. He also writes art reviews in leading magazines.

 He work is born from a scratch technique that uses acrylics as a medium.  Chelian's forte is the rhythm in his strokes. He treats painting as a performing art. The rhythm of percussion is all he needs to move his brush or fingers along the canvas, creating images according to the beats. Most of the paintings born in this genre are simply paints splashed on canvas and later scraped into images.

 He is a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from Government College of Arts & Crafts, Kumbakonam. He has received several awards, including the Prestigious Camlin South Zone Award in senior category-in 2004, All-India Art Exhibition Award of the Chitrakala Nikethan of Andhra Pradesh in 1981,Best outgoing student award from lalithkala academi-Chennai in 1985, an award at the Thanjavur Medical College Exhibition in 1984, the Best Painting Artist Award in 1998, the title of “Kalai Gnayiru” from Thiruvalluvar Elakiya Mandram,Chennai in 1999, and the title of “Thoorigai Thoothuvan” from Vasal Illakiya Mandram in 2005 and the Outstanding Young Person Award from Thanjavur Junior Chamber in 1999.