The Culture Story presents Rajesh P Kargutkar’s solo exhibition titled Cramped Space which is on till 4 October 2024. Prior to this before Covid, Rajesh has participated in group shows at The Culture Story, the LUXE Art Museum and at the Singapore art fair. Rajesh is currently teaching and working in Geneva, Switzerland.
This exhibition was conceived and developed in collaboration with The Culture Story and has taken over a year to plan and organize. In this series of work which includes 10 paintings and 10 works on paper, Rajesh explores this idea of cramped spaces through his paintings, capturing the dynamic daily life and rich stories within Mumbai’s chawls – dense tenement complexes that emerged during the city’s colonial-era industrial boom. These multi-story buildings housed laborers in compact, single-room units known as kholis, some as small as 10 x12 feet, equipped with shared facilities such as toilets, washing areas, corridors, and staircases. It was within these bustling yet confined environments that Rajesh's own upbringing unfolded, serving as an enduring wellspring of inspiration for his artistic expression.
Yvonne Wang, the Singapore desk editor for Art Asia Pacific magazine, interviewed Rajesh and in her essay, she comments that “The term jugaad, originating from Hindi, speaks to the ingenuity of finding innovative solutions with scarce resources. Rooted in personal biography, the artist’s visual storytelling intertwines memories and photographs, blurring the boundaries between reality and imagination. Rather than focusing on the limitations of crowded living conditions, Kargutkar's paintings affirm the inherent right to everyday existence, revealing boundless possibilities within the chawls that defy the constraints of time, space, and resources. By highlighting the lived experiences, memories, and routines of chawl inhabitants, Kargutkar underscores the agency, creativity, and resilience of both individuals and communities, recognising their ability to flourish in the face of adversity. For the artist, every moment, no matter how ordinary, brims with untapped potential, waiting to be discovered.”
Chong Huai Seng, founder of The Culture Story shared that, “I’m very excited to see this exhibition come to fruition. We originally planned to invite Rajesh to Singapore in 2021-2022, however COVID derailed our plans. I am grateful to Rajesh for trusting us with his vision and I hope the audience will enjoy his paintings; they are honest paintings, hopeful paintings. Society is always marching towards progress and modernity, yet these colourful and vibrant works show us a different perspective, one that is often overlooked or invisible. I wish to congratulate Rajesh for baring his soul and creating this powerful series of paintings.”
Words Platform Desk
Date 19.08.2024