Creation is time independent, transcending eternity.
Creation is not static, nor permanent… rather an endless dynamic process.

There are three main conceptual elements in this collection of my works in TRANSCENDING ETERNITY: Vishnu, Shiva and Devi which together formulate into Brahman or The Ultimate Reality.

Vishnu represents the Supernova, ever expanding with energy flowing out, while Shiva represents the Black Hole at the centre of the galaxy absorbing the constant flow, contracting and coalescing till it itself evaporates and finally, bursting into a Supernova spewing out tremendous energy again.

This dynamic energy of Vishnu, Shiva and Brahman manifests itself as the Shaktis of the three goddesses – Laxmi, Durga and Saraswati  or collectively as The Devi.

Time and space are not linear…the past, the present and the future are all contained in this moment – the Eternal Now.
The understanding of this principal of Vedic science was the point of departure and set the trajectory for the works in TRANSCENDING ETERNITY.

I just have to shut my eyes to be with the first Homo-Sapiens in the damp and dark caves of Lascaux holding a flickering oil lamp and assist them in creating the first pieces of “Art” in an altered state of consciousness or be with the sculptors of pharaohs, carving them gazing into eternity as I isembark my boat on the Nile.

I can be in Byzantium making gilded mosaics of the Lord, admire the perfection of the Parthenon or travel back to the creation of Angkor, make my way up the lybrinthic  steps past the Virochana Buddhas enclosed in hundreds of stupas and reach the summit of Borabodur to experience divine emptiness or rake sand at the Zen gardens of Ryonji.

I can hear the sound of the chisels on stone of 1200 shilpkars creating the erotic walls of Konarak paying homage to the Sun God. I can be with Michelangelo as he gives life to God’s finger, with Picasso as he is putting his revolutionary strokes on Guernica or be with Monet contemplating the Nymphaeas at the ponds of Giverny.

Best of all – and it sends a shiver down my spine when I think of it – I reconnect with the Chola bronze makers. I see myself carrying this living tradition forward to another level by breaking the rigid rules and dogmas, to create afresh with renewed vigour, a fresh technique and vision while preserving their essence. Being comfortable with the analytical and the spiritual worlds of the West and the East and their approaches to art, I like to abandon both at the time of creation and to be just myself in order to make art that uplifts and reaches the secret, silent space of the heart.

The other major breakthrough in my present works is the merging of the second and the third dimension, the flat and the round. This progression happened naturally and effortlessly. There was a Wow moment when this came about and thereafter it just flowed. My world is constantly merging and becoming one, I am doing away with dualities because I see no difference between sculpture and painting, ultimately it is the creative act that counts. I call these creations Sculpturepaintings as one word, not hyphenated, because life, time, space, eternity… are ONE.

Satish Gupta
November 2012