Versatile Artist

What distinguishes a great artist from a weak one is first his sensibility and tenderness; second, his imagination, and third, his diligence. But these are exactly the traits of multi-faceted personality, Naresh Kapuria. A painter, sculptor, art designer, installation artist, landscape artist, actor (documentaries), event manager and a gallery owner, the 58-year-old bachelor Kapuria is the person behind most cultural events around the world attended by the top names in the field of art and culture. He is one of those artists who never restricted himself to one art form. In a formal chat with Uday India, he said that one should try his or her hands in every art form.

            Honoured with numerous awards like France’s biggest award for art, the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters), the King of Belgium, to name a few, Kapuria is still in search of being a good human being. Coming from a lower-middle class family, he has seen through rough days during his student life. “I wanted to become a scientist, but for lack of money, I couldn’t realise my dream. So I decided excel in the field of art,” he reveals. With the support of his family, he joined Triveni Kala Sangam, as a part-time clerk. Soon he started working under the guidance of Mrs Shridharni to perfect himself.

            He experiments with all kinds of art forms. “It does help not only in understanding different art forms but also in fetching me money to earn a living,” reasons Kapuria. In his early ages, he faced lot of humiliating experience, which instilled in him an urge to become a big name to be reckoned with. “In the beginning, I was never appreciated for my works. People always used to make fun of my creativity by stating me weak in my genre. But now, such a blend is the in-thing, they say, ‘I was way ahead of the times.’ But I always welcome the new generation whole-heartedly, allow them to flow with their creativity and am quite fascinated by their works,” he points out.

When asked about his being a bachelor till date, he replies in a lighter vein, “Find me a good girl, I will get married.” But he soon adds, “I am happy being with my friends and never felt any such need to get married.” Being a straightforward man, Kapuria does not hesitate from calling a spade a spade and gets inspired by both interpersonal and intrapersonal communication taking place in his life.

            His works are not pre-planned; whatever comes to his mind he carves it out or paints it on the canvas. Despite being a renowned artist, he is still a down-to-earth man. He is the one behind all the decoration of Suraj Kund Mela for about 10 years. At present, he is working as art director in Hotel, The Lalit, in Delhi.

By Vaishali Tanwar