The enigma of the female heart is evidently intriguing to this painter as it has been to artists in all ages. A constant search to understand the desires, yearnings and pinings that rule a woman is seen in his works. Dozens of eyes rise from the sleeping figure of a man to hover around his female companion, and the reflection of a beautiful woman shows not one but a myriad different faces. “One can never fathom the heart of a woman. It has become the subject of artistic explorations, at times consciously and more often unconsciously,” says Kanakasanan. The veteran artist is making a comeback to the art scene with a solo exhibition at the Museum Auditorium after a self-imposed hiatus. The coaxing of his software engineer son to conduct an exhibition has resulted in a body of 110 works, which experiment in style, technique and themes. The artist finds reconciliation in portraying motherhood, the one expression of womanhood that he is able to identify with. He attributes the mother – in every form of life – with virtues. The human forms representing a father and a mother are overshadowed by images of other women and of children respectively, signifying the shift of priorities in their minds as pictured by the artist.However, Kanakasanan attributes his women with immense strength in their role as mother. The Krishna who flies down to suckle on Poothana is many-winged, for the mighty femme fatale is a worthy rival for the little God. The repeated images of elephants catch the attention of the onlooker. “As a student of the Fine Arts College, I did paintings of elephants on wooden artifacts for an antique shop in Thiruvananthapuram. They passed them off as antique pieces, but it fetched enough pocket money. The striving to perfect the shape of elephants caught on from that time and continues to this day,” he smiles. The acrylic paintings are done using the sharpened midrib of coconut leaf. “I have been experimenting with the technique for sometime now. It is time -consuming, but gives a totally fresh texture on the canvas,” he says. A retired medical photographer, Kanakasanan plays with the light and shade effect to a great extent. Paintings from an earlier series, done using ball pens, create a three -dimensional effect with the sheer dexterity of shading employed by the artist. The exhibition will conclude on October 16. Time 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
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