Vishal

Vishal is one of a series of paintings done in the late eighties which were primarily concerned with the simultaneous pictorial depiction of the interior and exterior of a given space. The painting also belongs to what is termed Dodiya's 'photo-realistic' period, where he was working with photographic images in an attempt to capture and recreate the lifelike qualities of a photograph. In this work, he has used shadows as the primary device to communicate the contrasting spaces to the viewer, with the two door frames serving to enhance the unbroken yet divided picture plane. The open door at the left where Vishal leans out throws a patch of sunlight onto the blue-grey surface of the floor and wall, which casts shadows of the boy as well as the other inanimate objects placed around the room. The static figure of the boy is further reflected in the angled basketball hoop in the 'exterior.' The artist states that he was trying to convey a very still, static quality to the viewer. The work was done for his first solo show held at Gallery Chemould, Mumbai in 1989 and shows his nephew, Vishal.