Over the last few years, the phenomenon of megalopolization has become the main theme in the works of Indian artist Basist Kumar. Employing architectural structures and urban environments in his work, he attempts to analyze the living conditions in today’s constantly growing Indian society. Kumar presents his subjects alone. In his paintings, he exaggerates the relationship of the megalopolis and the individual. His heroes are those who survive in contemporary India; those who thrive without the union of the community; and those who shape the metropolitan environment as they once shaped the natural environment. Kumar presents his content in a straightforward manner; the reading of his work is clear and concise.
Read MoreFrom a stylistic perspective, his paintings recall the visions of the Italian futurists. While designs featuring bold groupings and large-scale dispositions of planes and masses creating a heroic industrial expressionism were described in the Manifesto of Futurist Architecture (1914); it can not be considered the main focus in the contemporary work of Indian artist Basist Kumar. He simply exhibits a sheer excitement of modern architecture and technology. Kumar, however, does not create new visions of architecture, but of an individual who has to be integrated into the visions of others.
