Harsimran’s works, specific to the collection of ‘Contemporary Retellling’, are a fantastic tale of art history narrated through stories that prompt the audience to imagine their own. Motivated by the visual lexicon of various artists from history, these works appropriate existing imagery by merging or juxtaposing different elements to create new ones; evidenced – but not limited – by the use of different techniques and mixed media application. His visual language in this collection oscillates between figuration and abstraction, influenced by primitive or tribal representations of humans and animals from various cultures, sometimes even mythology. Starting typically with a story – true or fictional – he lets his approach to be guided by intuition that often results in an act of art - making that is impulsive, aggressive and restless. This is most evident in his use of oil bars, oil pastels, pencils and graphite. The frequent use of text in his works are a manifestation of his thoughts and observations and serve as prompts to reinterpret one’s relative experiences or the painting itself. Oftentimes, these works are driven by the tension between reality and fantasy and in an unusual way, also reflects upon society with the ever - apparent human desires consuming our reality.

Basquiat’s Visit to Nandgopal
Emulsions, Oil Pastels, Oil bar and Graphite on Denim
85in x 63in
2020