Magunta Dayakar

A Forest That Is Not Seen - Artist's Statement

A Forest That Is Not Seen does not mean an invisible forest. It means a forest that cannot be understood only through what we see.
A forest is made of trees, leaves, soil, water and light. But when we enter a forest, we do not experience these things separately. We experience them as a whole—the darkness, the light, the ground, the movement, the mystery and the uncertainty of what lies beyond.
That is what I try to paint. I am not trying to describe a forest or show everything that exists there. I try to capture the feeling that remains in me after seeing it.
Perhaps that forest cannot be painted completely. It can only be suggested.
That is the forest I am searching for—a forest that is not merely seen, but felt.''
- Magunta Dayakar

About The Artist: Magunta Dayakar (real name: Magunta Venkatasubba Reddy) is a self-taught painter and writer from rural India. Inspired as a young man by American art books, he developed his understanding of painting through decades of independent study, observation, and practice rather than formal academic training. Today, he is the author of eighteen books on painting, read by artists and art students in the United States and around the world.
For m...

Self-Taught

4 Solo Exhibitions in Hyderabad, India