BHUBANESWAR: A one-day solo art exhibition of Sanjeev Kumar organised by SK Art gallery showcased a collection of exquisite paintings at Mezbaan, Galaxia Garden, Patia here Thursday.
The art gallery is founded by Sanjeev Kumar himself. Hailing from Ranchi, he has completed his schooling from Dehradun where he learned fine art and eight other art styles namely glass, wall, portrait, vector, sketch, water and sand art.
His paintings have been gifted to CM Naveen Patnaik, singer Armaan Malik, founder, KIIT and KISS, Achyuta Samanta, founder, Vastukar Foundation and author S S Ray.
The artist organises art exhibitions in the capital frequently to promote budding artists. He said, “I would describe my artworks as a series of poems without words.” He has also displayed his artworks for public viewing on various occasions like .Fest of Odisha, restaurants like Amigo, Vasl, Kabad Khana and Mezbaan among others.
Besides paintings, Sanjeev has also authored a book ‘My 15 girlfriends who made me a millionaire. He has also crafted a career in modeling. He has won many shows in the state and is also the finalist of Mr. India 2017 organised by Studio 19.
“Art has always been an integral part of my life. It started as a hobby as I used to paint late at night during childhood. It takes guts to follow your passion. An artist doesn’t work for money. They work for the respect and applause which they earn after a lot of hard work. I showcase my art works to the world through various platforms like social media, art exhibitions and live sketching,” he said.
People often ask me, “How do you manage to be an author, model and painter besides continuing your studies?” “I tell that these things are not very different from each other,” he said.
My goal is to preserve vanishing art forms and culture. This is one of the reasons why I sell my paintings at a low rate so that people can afford it and have a beautiful handmade art piece at their place rather than a factory made product. I know factory made things are cheaper, available in large quantities and requires less time but the one thing that’s missing in it is emotion. An artist works day in and day out to portray every detail just to see a satisfactory smile on the face of his customers.
Bhubaneshwar has always helped me to fly high and it’s a city known for its art and culture. Thanks to our C.M. Naveen Patnaik who has painted the whole city with such rich art works to maintain the artistic culture in the hearts of people.
I’m not an artist who holds onto a particular style or medium of art. I find art in everything as everything has its beauty. One needs an artistic approach to see it.