acrylic-paint
portrait
acrylic-paint
figuration
oil painting
neo expressionist
pop-art
nude
portrait art
Copyright: © All content copyright Sonaly Gandhi
Here we see an unnamed work by Sonaly Gandhi, presenting us with bodies overlaid with a striking checkerboard pattern. This motif, which she uses liberally, brings to mind the Harlequin figure from the Commedia dell’arte. Originally a figure of mischief, the Harlequin’s patchwork costume has evolved to symbolize duality and the blending of opposites. The checkerboard, or lozenge pattern, represents the character’s complex nature: shrewd yet foolish, nimble yet clumsy. Consider too, the interplay of red and blue, hot and cold, passion and intellect. Across time, this pattern resurfaces, its meaning never quite fixed. From ancient games to heraldic symbols, the checkerboard represents choice, strategy, and the unpredictable dance of fate. And here, in Gandhi's vision, does it point to the multifaceted nature of human identity? Perhaps it is a question of who we are, versus how we are perceived? The squares might be imprisoning, or perhaps they provide a foundation of identity. Like a persistent echo, the Harlequin’s checkered legacy calls to us, its visual language subtly altered, yet resonating with enduring truths about human nature.
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