Mannat Gandotra | Masanori Handa: Mannat Gandotra, Masanori Handa

Ota Fine Arts Singapore is delighted to present a duo exhibition, "Mannat Gandotra | Masanori Handa". The works of these two artists express unique worlds created by them, whether it is the visually-abstract universe of Mannat Gandotra or the intriguing amalgamation of motifs by Masanori Handa.

Mannat Gandotra's (b. 2001, India) paintings exude an intense energy through her dynamic compositional structures of line, colour and form. Gandotra relates to Jazz and the idea of atonality, which describes music that does not conform to the system of tonal hierarchies, as well as by the occurrence of familiar pitch combinations in unfamiliar environments. In creating her paintings, Gandotra sees herself creating problems and trying to resolve those problems in an ever-expanding space. Lines are sometimes straight, curved or fractured, and colours go next to each other in unusual combinations; elements clash and bounce off one another, and yet sit together in a dissonant atmosphere, which the artist describes as "fighting like siblings or residing like neighbours or in some paintings seducing each other". Gandotra forges a relationship with each of her paintings, developing a spiritual exchange of emotive thoughts. 

On the other hand, Masanori Handa (b. 1979, Japan) presents a new series of works,  "Phantom", which depict an imaginary world that overlaps with reality as a double image. In the work PHANTOM - HOT SPRING (2024), Handa depicts the bathtub in which he bathed together with his father when he was a child. In the same scene, he layers motifs such as a pool of blood and the 'Johari no Kagami' (a crystal mirror that is said in Japanese Buddhism to be used by Enma, the King of Hell, for inquiring if the dead were right-minded or not before their death). Nearby, by the side of the bathtub, sake and snacks are prepared, and in the distance, the bathtub is obscured by steam. The combination of motifs brings about a sense of desolation lurking in the background, and the viewer is left to connect the dots. Likewise, in other pieces from the Phantom series, through a series of distinctively selected motifs, Handa explores themes of physical being, memories, spirituality and death.

Ota Fine Arts Singapore invites all to experience the energies and intangible emotions through the works of these two artists.