Surfaces uncover themselves and tell stories of centuries…. It is deep, dark but dazzling world of whispering waves….. Beauties built by bygone years are the backbone of Harshil Patel. Countless cute corners of heart are interwoven on the canvas. The paintings are incarnation of artist’s affection and emotion wooed by worldly wealth. These are the streets, which lead to longing of being. One has to start journey within to feel the artist’s aesthetic arena.

Tiers of ever changing time, strokes of love and lust, lights and shadows of emotions, hand marks of humanity, songs sung by serenity, crakes created by struggle of existence, lines kissing to the sky and the earth, balconies looking for better days, doors and windows waiting for well wisher wind, skylines dividing  luster into lovely shapes,  the earth keeping favored footprints in heart, roof’s and terrace’s soliloquies with supreme…… these  all are the breathing beauty of Harshil Patel’s paintings.

Streets are sleepy because of ever rushing city at daytime, but dance with the tune of tranquility at night. No one speaks the word ‘Harmony’, but it is a part of existence. Even buildings don’t look at their higher or lower status but join hand in hand with inbuilt harmony. Ups and downs of time have given dignity to the historic city like Ahmedabad. All these qualities of the megacity are reflected in Harshil Patel’s art. At the end of process, from creation to absorption, it becomes the nectar of hereditary heartbeat.

 

Texture which breaths. It is Harshil Patel’s own horizon, which should be mentioned specially.  He spent days and nights to create the texture which can tell the timeless saga of the city. Fortunately he succeeded. Texture has the test of past, the smell of sweat, the song of pain, the touch of wrinkles and the eye of faith. It is itself an experience five senses. Coarse strokes and layers of color bear the sensual feel of inheritance. Variety of life and vitality of time is easily accessible on canvas. His sensitivity is so sharp, understanding so widened, creativity so high, technique so much different, so he created marvelous works of art. He has achieved his very own attractive and effective pictorial language.

 

Harshil Patel has created footprints of foregone years in his very own style. Black and white is eternal as well as classic color which dominates his canvases with lyrical lines and suggestive shapes. His perfect perspective and uncommon composition have given new meaning to all the works. These are like three dimensional worlds, so one can easily move inside the aesthetic territory. Buildings, streets (pols), roads, roofs, terraces, doors, windows, courtyards, balconies, temples, Darvajas, Chabootaras, towers, fortress, monuments……. All these weave the historical city’s wealth on canvas. Variety of skyline and mosaic of landscape…… It’s a kaleidoscope of inheritance.

 

Harshil Patel born and brought up in the old walled Ahmedabad. Ahmedabad’s heritage is his heartbeat, his evergreen nostalgia. He started sketching of the old city at the doorstep of childhood. He says: “Ahmedabad is my very own city. I am woven by its proud warp and weft. It is breathing within me. I love Ahmedabad and Ahmedabad loves me. It has given me so much. When all dialogues stop, I talk with it. Its long and very rich tradition inspires me. Any change or any destruction hurts me, bleeds me, it’s like a paralysis to my limbs. When the world sleeps, I roam in the veins of city. It is lullaby among chaos. So that, my paintings are free from hazardous life, but they show beauty beneath cruel reality. They are the visual forms of intimate talk with the solemn city and the gift of collective solitude too.”

 

Harshil Patel is fascinated by the layers: layers of wall and layers of land. Either the layer of color or earth rips of, it shows the presence of bygone generation. He also likes the harmony of Ahmedabad. It is seen everywhere. He shows it symbolically by putting higher and lower buildings together, by color contrast, by distance etc.

 

Harshil Patel’s first concern is the love for city and to preserve its pride. He conveys this symbolically. Since 2001 he has developed his own style and technique. From childhood to till the date his main stream of expression is splendid cityscape and sensational skyline.  He has born on 7^th November, 1982. He completed diploma of painting from Sheth C.N. School Of Fine Arts, Ahmedabad, in 1998. His artistic journey had been started suddenly by very tragic incident of 2001’s major earthquake. His emotion for the city has been shattered into pieces. His first show was the tribute to the wounded city, named by ‘Dedicated to Earthquake Victims’.

 

From this shocking incident, his love for the city multiplied, creativity flourished day by day and reached up to the peak of verve. Soon after in 2002, he participated in group show named ‘Amdavad no varso’ means, heritage of Ahmedabad. He completed study in 2004 and he was selected for the Euro tour to United Kingdom and Paris by Camlin Foundation. He was also selected in 2006 for Art Tour to research on Contemporary Art and Diversity in Culture to United Kingdom, sponsored by Marvel Art Gallery. He continued his journey within vigorously. He had solo show ‘Nagarnama’ and ‘Celebration’ group show at Marvel Art Gallery, Ahmedabad, in 2005. He added  another feather of fame through his journey when 6 x 20 ft giant painting was displayed at the Rajpath club, Ahmedabad on the occasion  of the world heritage week in 2005. In 2006 he participated in ‘Harmony’  group show at the Nehru Centre, Mumbai.  In 2007 ‘ The Marvelous Show’ group show was organized at Marvel Art Gallery, Ahmedabad and Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai and a group show at Art-Konsult, Delhi also in the same year. In the year 2008 ‘Window to Gujarat’ group show was organized at Cymroza Art Gallery, Mumbai, jointly presented by Marvel Art Gallery, Ahmedabad, Curetted by Chaitya Dhanvi Shah;  ‘The Art Fair’ at the World Trade Centre, Mumbai and a solo show ‘Nagarnama-II’ at Marvel Art Gallery, Curetted by Chaitya Dhanvi Shah.

This love for heritage, love for Ahmedabad is the soul and search of identity for Harshil Patel. Paintings presented here are the footprints of never ending, eternal journey of human caravan. Six of them are the soul site of Ahmedabad’s heritage and other six are artist’s reflections born during the process of painting. In other words, six of them are smooth sensual realistic saga of the city and others are pure work of art with modern touch and vital strokes; a contemporary look. He has balanced both side with aesthetic value and joined them together with the invisible strings of sensitivity. These are the pride of Ahmedabad’s inheritance, which should be shown to the world with dignity.

Nisarg Ahir