Plants

Krishna Reddy

An integral aspect of Krishna Reddy’s work is his preoccupation with nature. Instead of directly imitating it, he captured its essence, aided by elements and forms as seen in his etching, Plants. Spontaneous, energetic lines erupt from irregular configurations, winding across the center of the print, emulating plant forms. The beauty in Reddy’s abstract visuals lies in the viewer’s ability to generate multiple readings. From a magnified image of a tree bark to an aerial view of a natural landscape or a contour map, the interpretations of this work remain varied. However, what is certain is his reverence towards the elemental. This was likely ingrained at a young age through the ideological leanings propagated in Santiniketan, which then became a lifelong exploration. The composition with its tonal and textural variations is a result of his pioneering discovery – the multicolor viscosity process in intaglio printmaking.