Such complexities can be seen in S.G. Vasudev’s latest works, titled “Rhapsody.” The word, rhapsody, emerged from the wandering singers of Greece or Rhapsodists, who used to narrate a poem or part of a composition. In contemporary times Rhapsody is understood as a vocal or instrumental piece that is not interlinked to any particular form of music. The musical themes of rhapsody are loosely bound to one another; they can be casual themes, independent, and not necessarily built upon one another.

Vasudev’s latest set of paintings follow a similar pattern. Firstly the base/background and the drawing area are separated in terms of themes and motifs; eventually they fuse/blend together by means of overlay and corresponding with one another, resembling an entire composition of fugato.

A closer look at a Vasudev’s Tree of Life reveals how he artfully and subtly builds up the picture over gorges, grooves and valleys on the substratum of the canvas.

A painter – like a musician, perhaps – who follows an inner melody connects it to another independent melody, all of them connecting and branching out into a harmonious lattice. This has always been the case in the fine arts. Synthesis was the basic feature of the Romantic Age. Synthesis can be found in the works of the musical composer, Richard Wagner.

Synthesis is part of Vasudev’s “musical” works, created over the last few years. It is not often that such an intense connection between music and art occurs. These paintings are like complex music notes, connecting emotional depths and intellectual contra point, and linking different artistic disciplines to form a complex whole.

– Ernst W Koelnspergar
Art Historian