Indigo Blue Art (IBA) is pleased to present Samadhi, in conjunction with Vesak Day and in commemoration of the passing of Sohan Qadri, Spiritual Teacher, Poet and Master Artist.

Samadhi, in Buddhism, refers to the concentration of the mind. Samadhi is part of the Noble Eightfold Path that was taught by the Buddha. With the development of Samadhi, a person‟s mind is believed to become pure, calm, tranquil, and luminous. Once one achieves a strong and powerful concentration, his mind is at the threshold of seeing the ultimate nature of reality.

Likewise, international artist and former Buddhist monk Sohan Qadri, believed in the ideals of Samadhi. Sohan began painting by meditating, ensuring that with whole concentration, he could induce an inner unification with his art.

Sohan, who was also a Vajrayana Tantric teacher, was initiated by a Sufi master and a Vajrayana Tantric guru as a young boy. Both teachers taught him the ideals of spirituality through meditation, dance and music. Their profound impression on Sohan heralded him to a lifelong commitment into spirituality and art.

Sohan‟s characteristic use of the „dot or the moola beeja‟ in his paintings re-interpreted an ancient tantric meditative practice. In his meticulously dyed-infused paintings on serrated paper, Sohan abandoned representation in a search for transcendence. By voiding his mind of all thoughts and images, he observed, “Only emptiness, I feel, should communicate with emptiness of the canvas”.

There will be other paintings and photography inspired by Buddhism on display.

About the Artists

SOHAN QADRI (1932-2011)

Born in 1932 in Punjab, India, Sohan Qadri began his quest for his true self through Tantric yoga and spent long periods of time silently meditating in remote temples in the Himalayas and Tibet. His isolation propelled his urge to paint. He received his MFA in 1960 from the Government College of Art in Simla, India, but soon discovered that academic trappings were not for him. Shortly after his first exhibition in 1965, he left India for the West and has been staying abroad for more than 40 years. Sohan Qadri is also a published poet and often presented lectures on aesthetics and metaphysics.

FAWZAN HUSAIN

Fawzan Husain has a post graduate degree in Journalism from Bombay School of Journalism. With over 21 years of experience as a photo journalist, he has traveled extensively across India and has done several International assignments. He specializes in Documentary style of photography.

Fawzan‟s work has been widely exhibited and published; eight solo shows and 10 group exhibitions over the last 21 years. His pictures have found space in many International publications namely; New York Times, The London Telegraph, GEO, Época Negócios -Brazil, South China Morning Post etc. Earlier, he was associated with Mid-Day Publications and then with India Today magazine for more than a decade. And as he recalls his best days, he says, “Mid-Day was where I honed my talent in documentary photography.” His work is also included in the Permanent Collection of The Museum of Fine Art, Houston, Kiyosato Museum of Photographic Arts in Japan and Hotel `The Park‟ in Bangalore, India.

AKSHAT BHATT

Akshat has being pursuing photography since 1997 in the midst of his first encounter with architecture. What initiated his interest was in trying to define objects that played a role in providing the context with a soul. Though much of his photography revolves around architecture, the idea of capturing a moment in time of a unique un-repetitive event intrigued him. With every journey that he took to a new place, he tried to capture for himself the essence of the place through that moment which would define the spirit more than the apparent syntax. The photographs walk on the thin line between reality and abstraction giving way for a different interpretation, a different memory every time through the static image.

AMIT MEHRA

In his exciting visual journey spanning eighteen years, Amit Mehra has traversed through variant genres of photography. His work has been published in Time, Der Spiegel, Fortune, Condenaste, Elle, French, Indian & Italian Elle Décor, India Today, Tehlka , Gallerie and National Geographic.

He has recently been awarded “Photographer of the Year -Asia” by Sagamihara Museum, Japan for the coffee table book of his pictures “India A Timeless Celebration”. His works have been widely exhibited in London, Madrid, New York, Tokyo, Sydney, Milan and Melbourne and are the part of permanent collections of private collectors and art museums.