Eka Resources curated the Exhibition, Samvega – Aesthetic Shock by Lesleigh Goldberg at the Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. The show was curated by Dr. Alka Pande and Pramod Kumar KG.
Born in Denver, Colorado, U.S.A, and formally trained as a sculptor, with a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Fine Arts from University of Pennsylvania; Lesleigh Goldberg’s life and work is a true reflection of an international artist who transcends boundaries and is at home across the world. From her roots in America to her work in France, Southeast Asia, Croatia and now India, Lesleigh’s art practice draws its strength from her immediate landscape. Lesleigh has exhibited her work extensively in France and in the United States. This was her first show in India.
In “SAMVEGA – Aesthetic Shock” she brought together the Muses that inspired the creation of literature and art in Grecian mythology alongside the Navarasa, the nine essences fundamental in the creation of almost all forms of Indian art. ‘Samvega’ a word from the ancient Pali language is often used to denote the shock or wonder that may be felt when the perception of a work of art becomes a serious experience. It can be an oppressive sense of shock, dismay, and alienation that come with realizing the futility and meaninglessness of life as it’s normally lived.
Through the lens of her camera Lesleigh closely observed and absorbed life’s myriad change of course. Several images were taken over different spans of time in different worlds find themselves cohabiting the same space. While on one-hand Lesleigh used the computer to manipulate, morph, juxtapose, contextualize and de-contextualize layered meanings in her photographs, her ceramic sculptures were very effective results of painstaking formations created by her bare hands.
Since living in New Delhi, Lesleigh had been working on images using a ‘nude‘ and placing her in surreal environments, dream-like and mysterious. These images very often incorporated architectural elements, the sky, and the sea photographed during the artists travels across the world. The sky in Lesleigh’s art foregrounds and enveloped the nude sitter, the visual imagery transported us into unknown realms, both imagined and real, from both the artist’s perspective and from our own hopes and fears. Both Navarsa and Samvega were important iconic cultural concepts that have shaped Lesleigh’s current work expressed through a series of ceramic masks and layered photographs.
The exhibition was on view till 22nd February 2011.