Renault’s Kwid Art Car painted by French artist of Indian origin Shombit Sengupta was inaugurated by Yves Perrin, Consul General of France in Mumbai at ICIA Gallery, Kala Ghoda. The car will be on display at the gallery till 14th November as part of “Désordre”, an exhibition of Gesturism Art created by Sen.
The Art Car will then be sent to Barbizon, France (10th December to 27th December 2016) called the Artists Village in France where Modern Art was cradled since 1870. The Kwid art car will later travel to international auto shows and art shows, and will finally be displayed at the Renault Heritage Museum in France.
In his search for a new painting expression to transcend Post Modern Art, and his experience of contradictory cultures, Sen established the ideology he calls Gesturism Art in 1994. This style has paintings and désordre installations in different themes. There are 8 themes with 50 recent 2015-16 artworks being exposed in this exhibition which will run up to 22 November 2016 at the ICIA Gallery at Colaba in Mumbai. These themes are Mystic Island, Love & Force, Colour of Dance, Sensualism, Night Spirit, Companion, Breathing France, and a theme on India called Ville Engimatique.
Speaking on the occasion, Patrick Lecharpy, Renault’s Design Director in Paris, said that it is the first time an artist has narrated a story through his painting style in an art car, in contrast to earlier art cars done by famous artists like Lichtenstein, Warhol, Koons and Calder that showcased only the artist’s style of art. He was fascinated by Sen’s bi-cultural aspect in his art. The Kwid art car vividly reflects his French inspiration, Indian colours through ‘Ville Enigmatique’ where he has juxtaposed historical French Bengal and Victorian Bengal with traditional Bengali life that continues till today.
“I have always painted on a flat canvas in my Gesturism Art style. Painting on the 3 dimensional volume of the Kwid was an exciting and tough challenge, particularly as I was recounting a story. Bringing a harmonious storyline detailing every corner of the automobile requires extreme self-discipline of art. The best part is, when I relook at the art car today, I am myself getting surprised to discover different areas that I had painted up to 4 am in the morning for several days in Renault’s Design Workshop in Chennai.” said Shombit Sengupta.
Following is an image gallery for the Renault Kwid Art Car:
