Ganesh Selvaraj

Ganesh Selvaraj was born in 1976, Chennai. He studied masters in fine art at Government College of Arts and Craft, Madras University. He began his artistic career in 2000 when he completed his MFA in Chennai. He later went on to study Printmaking with Edinburgh Print Makers, Scotland. Well known for creating works that portray a deep commitment to abstraction, Ganesh is constantly on the quest for innovative concepts in new techniques and forms. One of the four artists in the Genesis group, he delves deep into the expressions of identity, existence – concepts that are subtly encrypted within all our human experiences and memories. 

For Selvaraj, his arrangements are a performative act. He is as interested in being, as he is in the making. Shreds of paper, in pale yellows, whites, black, blues and occasionally in more vibrant colours, such as red, are intricately placed within a loose system of coordinates, so that they may be arranged freely and in any number of potential representations within his tableaux. He creates a complex and sensuous rhythm through a consistent, meticulous process, achieved by repeating and varying a single principle. In the set of works presented in this exhibition, Selvaraj places the pieces of paper in random direction. He plays with density and levels to achieve variations in texture. It is evident that he sets himself rules – there are visible linear partitions that seem to divide the works. But these rules are set only to be broken whenever necessary – the same linear partitions change direction at will. Even so, there is a system at play, however sporadically applied - the lines are joined together for the final arrangement. Thus, using and expanding on the random yet systematic methodology, while simultaneously giving rise to a schema, which has a higher degree of complexity in its fundamental aesthetic and graphic potential. In the end, the sculptural structures that are created are indeed aesthetically satisfying, that you may Approach without your preoccupied knowledge.