Gurmeet Marwah’s solo-show ‘Kartab’ explores art beyond dimensions

Artist Gurmeet Marwah explores the concept of Kartab through minimalist artworks featuring animals and human-like figures in Bangalore exhibition.

Every individual is engaged in activities to move forward in life; an ongoing stunt to achieve something. “That is Kartab for you,” says artist Gurmeet Marwah, who is presenting his first solo exhibition in the city. As Gurmeet puts it, the show delves into the many levels or angles of kartab, a Hindi word that means act, deed, or undertaking, as it plays out in everyday life.

Gurmeet’s artistic exploration is driven by this idea or concept of human nature, where there is more to every act than what is visible on the surface.

“Everyone is involved in kartab, hoping to gain something. Then we strive to balance and maintain it. We are constantly in that loop,” he says.

Gurmeet says his artworks are an exploration of this concept, and is in keeping with his belief that an idea should not be confined to a single dimension, whilst also upholding minimalism.

“When I think of an idea, I want to explore its possibilities. I don’t understand the point of limiting it. Painting is the simplest form of expression, but I enjoy going beyond it,” says Gurmeet, explaining how he always visualises a concept from different angles and perspectives.

Animals feature regularly in Gurmeet’s works — goats, donkeys, monkeys, owls and frogs — both in paintings and woodcuts. “Local slang in conversations inspired me to use animals as my subjects. For instance, words such as gadha (donkey) and bakhra (goat) are often part of casual conversations, so I began using them in my work. It is not symbolic; it is just the language I speak and have grown up with,” says the Delhi-based artist.

Talking about how some of his recent works portray humanoid figures, Gurmeet says it is symbolic of a subject he wants to present, and the depiction happened incidentally. “This is the first time I have used a human figure in my art. It was not conscious, but some concepts needed such a protagonist, so it was brought in.”