Archan Nair

Archan Nair is from New Delhi and makes colorful, vibrant pictures characteristic of India, but with a modern twist by including items such as soda cans from pop culture and evocative nudes within his work.  Though he claims he does not have a style, his works are fully detailed and have a surrealistic and fantasy aura to them.  The images are created by combining traditional media, such as painting, with non-traditional media such as computer softwares.  He has been commissioned by large corporations such as Nike and Microsoft and is not even in his thirties yet.  He claims to be inspired by virtually anything, and creates art based on his feelings rather than thoughts.

Nair frequently uses the female figure in his work, creating a sense of sensuality.  The figure is usually the most realistically presented part of the piece making it seem as if the rest of the artwork is a dreamworld of the figure.  Flowers and birds are frequently shown in his work, as well as some cliches such as mushrooms.  There is usually a background to give the figure a sense of place, but everything else floats -- sometimes this is obvious in what appears to be an unintentional way.

His works appeal to me and do not appeal to me for the same reasons; the vibrant colors and amount of detail.  The colors he uses create a sense of noise, so it almost feels as if the painting is screaming at the viewer.  The colors catch my attention, but especially in the first example above, are almost overwhelming and too bright in too vast an area to stay focused on.  In the third example, the background colors are more subtle and inviting so the other parts of the image truly pop.  The amount of detail is interesting but also overwhelming, especially when looking at a vast collection of his works.  The pictures speak of chaos, but if there is an alternative meaning it might come through better through subtly.  As goes the phrase "less is more."


Sources: Interview, Homepage