Genesys Foundation, spearheaded by Radhika Buty Karnik, has organised its first solo painting exhibition from today at Rangayan Art Gallery, Chitnavis Centre, Nagpur. The three-day exhibition will exhibit paintings of 53-year-old Nagpur painter Sudhir Talmale. Radhika inaugurated the exhibition today in presence of well-known painter Sharad Ambulkar, Sudhir Talmale, Samiksha Talmale and Prasad Pimprikar. The exhibition consists of 52 oil paintings made by Sudhir Talmale from 2010 to 2017. People interested in visiting the solo painting exhibition can visit the venue till March 12 from 11 am to 7 pm.

When Sudhir was eight years old, he would often visit his uncle Dhyaneshwar Katekar’s place who was a painter. Paintings fascinated Sudhir and so he learnt painting by himself. He has been painting since 45 years now! Sudhir who over the years has showcased his paintings in metro cities like Mumbai and Delhi many a time is a fine arts graduate from Nagpur University. It’s after a gap of 12 years that he is exhibiting his paintings in a solo painting exhibition in Nagpur. In his own words, his paintings are about rhythm and the colours of dance. No wonder, he always prefers listening to old or pop music while he is painting. While speaking to Nation Next about his exhibition, Sudhir said, “It’s important that organisations like Genesys Foundation sponsor such exhibitons so that art and artists can thrive in the city.”

My paintings, my passion!

Painting is just not passion for this city artist, it is something which has healed him when he fell seriously ill a couple of years back. Sudhir says, “In 2015, my liver got damaged which inturn infected one of my kidneys. I have been hospitalised 8-10 times and after I got treated at Lata Mangeshkar Hospital, I recovered but I’m still on medicines. Even when I used to be in the hospital, I couldn’t stay away from painting. Once when I was hospitalized, I got an order for a painting from a customer in Mumbai. It was a 12-feet painting. I used to go to my studio everday for two hours to finish the painting and then come back to my hospital bed! It took me around three years to recover completely and painting helped me recover. It gave me power and even when I was hospitalised I would just think of colours and composition of my paintings.”

Painting is an investment

Sudhir says that if a painter is good at his work and has passion he can survive in a good way just by the means of painting. But he also complains that people in Nagpur still don’t understand that buying a painting from a good artist is just like buying a good piece of land; it’s an investment. Sudhir says, “The costliest painting I have sold till date was for 4.5 lakhs in Mumbai. It was a 3 feet by 12 feet painting. It’s very difficult to sell a painting in Nagpur. People here can buy a sofa for five lakhs but will never buy a good painting! They don’t understand that buying paintings of senior artists is actually an investment. In 1970s, MF Husain’s paintings were sold for  mere Rs 40 and today they are worth crores!”

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