Kunstkosmos between Physics und Mysticism
by Sara Tröster Klemm

Meticulously painted, with a fine and flowing point, the art of Saurabh Narang opens a completely new universe. It is a world of precisionist lines and curves, which let us think of scientific and architectural drawings. Every inch of his works is painted with utmost care. It seems, as if nothing is left to chance in his paintings, drawings and digital prints, and nevertheless, they are full of life, colour and surprise. The viewer may discover many hidden details. Every line, and there are plenty, perfect and delicate, is worth a look.

Saurabh’s art lives from expressionist geometry. Based in Delhi, he observes nature, light and light beams with scientific seriousness and curiosity: “Art and physics are two different sides of the same coin”, Saurabh Narang said in early 2007, because “when a beam of light falls on the ground, it makes geometric patterns”. Combining these optical phenomena of light and shadow with inspirations from constructivism and modernism, the self taught artist creates paintings of a unique, unmistakable hand.

The essentials of his art he gained during his time at a boarding school situated near the foothills of the Himalayas in Dehradun, the students were trained under a learning environment that was and is prevalent in Rabindranath Tagore’s Shantiniketan, Visva-Bharati University West Bengal. An early introduction to screen printing technique enabled him to clearly understand the concept of image resolution, the available infrastructure around him let him extend limits and formative learning constructively assisted imagination to compose distant imagery. And indeed, his artworks speak for them- selves. No question, Saurabh Narang is an extremely gifted and capable painter with an enormous technical know-how. He mixes abstraction and figurative painting, Eastern and Western art and image traditions. Admiring the way Edward Hopper deals with natural light, Saurabh feels inspired by Western artists such as Monet, Renoir, Picasso, Warhol and in particular William Blake with his mysticism, and printmaking. Already in young years did Narang begin to experiment with light, his approach became self-explorative and research oriented. Additionally, Saurabh Narang pays tribute and is fundamentally nurtured by the Bengal school of art.

The sometimes surprisingly bright colours in his paintings radiate pulsating life – Narang chooses them with a high degree of reflection. He bears their symbolic and emotional meaning in mind. In the Indian colour system, blue stands for enlightenment and etherealness, while red and yellow symbolize cosmic karma, as visible in the abstract painting Cosmic Karma II from 2006, which Narang painted in acrylic on canvas. However, black unites all of his work, standing for the theory and practice of a man. In Cosmic Karma II, large parts of the painting are dominated by a warm shade of gold. In the confrontation of very clear, sharp and colorful sections with dark, earthly-brown parts, Narang creates a strong contrast between celestial and earthly colours, which is also reflected in the various structures. While the golden, red and black parts with their perfect lines are painted in a very smooth and consistent way and seem to be inspired by suprematist and constructivist paintings, the parts in the bottom are changing in a lively and dynamic manner. During the early 90s, Narang became motivated by the Indian religious philosophy in a constructive way. He didn‘t only conceptualize a stage production called Cosmic Karma, but these spiritual ideas became a part of him and accompany him since back then.

Though Narang is a manifold interested person, the rendering Aviation I (2013) shows a completely different approach. Painted in archival pigment ink on paper, this black-and-white-work captures the viewer‘s attention with its very delicate and complex style. It is dominated by myriads of angular planes – from big to minuscule, geometric black and white fields. Flight, aviation and (golden) wings mark important subjects to the artist in general.

Widely acclaimed, his works have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions throughout India, the UAE, Turkey, Greece, England and Norway. Narang combines and merges the Indian with the Western culture and the achievements of modern art, with emphasis on expressionism and constructivism. In his art, physics and spirituality don‘t become dichotomies, but are rather understood as complements. Oscillating between figurative painting and abstract art, his works deal with mysticism, resurgence and deep insights. He envisions remarkably “a cosmically abundant world that pays homage to the ancestral light, self and aesthetics”. Through a years-long intensive process, Narang developed a distinctive visual language, which fascinates and delights with its spiritual profundity and technical brilliance.

© Saurabh Narang / Galerie UTMT. Courtesy : Galerie UNDER THE MANGO TREE I Berlin