Meaning Of Being Gopal Naidu
Virendra Singh Godhara
Gopal Naidu is a multifaceted artist with awakened consciousness to his social concerns. His expression may find a vent through an article or a painting or a terra cotta sculpture. His commitment to progressive values keeps him disciplined even in his expression, whether it is through articles or sketches or sculpture. The beauty is, that this discipline does not restrict the communication his art work in any form makes, rather enhances it. His paintings are more of drawings and sketches with minimum use of colors, but the images created speak for Gopal’s prowess.
We find a confluence of Indian and Western styles in his work and also fusion of classical and folk traditions, which brings him near Ram Kinkar Baij, but with more contemporary and more modern perception. The guiding force in his sketcher and terra cotta sculpture seems to be his uncompromising sensitivity, which makes his sketches and sculptures exude vitality, vigor and dynamism and rank him close to Sadanand Bakre and Somenath Hore. Naidu’s work in sculpture exhibits high degree of maturity so much so that his rough touches also appear to be sophistication. This is certainly an achievement.
Let us look at his sculpture ‘Angry Man’. Expressionism melts with socialist realism and conveys not only that the ‘angry man’ is angry, but also, why is he angry.
Similarly in ‘Loader’ we find the depiction of ‘beings with thorns in feet yet horizon in eyes’ with votive spirit.
‘Hokati Bai’ a figurine in sand stone and the first among Gopal’s sculpture proves, coming events cast their shadows before. In his successive statuettes and plaques he achieved a unique abstraction without sacrificing his realism.
It can be safely claimed, Gopal still has a long way to march on.