Antonio Puri

The Abstract and the Personal:

A Contextual reading of Antonio Puri’s series, “I AM”

Antonio Puri is an artist who uses multiple perspectives in his engaging and thought provoking abstract compositions. In his 72” x 72” paintings which match his height and arm span like Leonardo’s vitruvian Man, he reveals the influence of many philosophical world views. His ever evolving visual aesthetic discourse in his current series of fourteen paintings I AM is a journey where viewers can contemplate canvases that convey his interpretation of labels. Puri deconstructs these labels to make a point about the value or damaging quality of labeling in contemporary society. Friends and acquaintances were asked to describe him using only one word. responses ranged from obsessive, lawyer, father, narcissist, patient, dreamer, enigmatic, cornerstone, soul mate, orphan, Himalayan, healing, destined, to one of us. Is a single word or phrase adequate in the description of the artist who embodies all these identities and more? Do labels differ from east to west where one philosophy is more communal and the other highly individualized?

Puri, a Punjabi indian who was born in the foothills of the great Himalayas, is very much a child of the eastern hemisphere. His early childhood was characterized by conversations with buddhist monks who would bring him to their small huts outside the village. His elementary and secondary education took place in Catholic boarding schools in India which introduced him to western perspectives. Puri developed further westernization in the united states as an art student. He subsequently pursued a law degree and studied international law in europe. He later abandoned the practice of law to become a full time artist. Puri is the manifestation of a fluid bridge between both sides of an east-west dichotomy. He is moreover, unique in his blended multiculturalism and aesthetics. His hybridism is subtle to all but his most intimate friends and associates. In much the same way, his paintings appear, at first glance, to be simplistic abstract reflections of art and life that simultaneously accept the perspective of the viewer. Puri’s appeal is that he cannot be neatly categorized by a single label or even multiple labels. In this exhibition, he artistically constructs and then deconstructs labels in his enigmatic fashion in a subtly confrontational dialogue.

As an art historian, I am intrigued by the inclusion of the contextual as well as the conceptual in deciphering works of art. For me, art does not simply exist for “art’s sake” – the artist’s intent is paramount. on the one hand, a viewer can simply enjoy one of Puri’s paintings as an abstract expression, a meditation, or a simple feast for the eyes. I feel strongly however, that a viewer or critic must also know the objective of the artist to truly enjoy and understand his art on a deeper level. I have had the privilege of knowing Antonio Puri as an artist for six years. He has exhibited at the McKinney Gallery at West Chester university as well as other venues and engaged modern art students with his art demos and dialogues. Over the years, students have favorably responded with essays regarding the work seen in his solo and group exhibitions and art demonstrations. A more complete understanding evolves when students and visitors are introduced to his philosophy and the underlying purpose of his complex compositions.

The canvases of Antonio Puri remind me of italian renaissance paintings that have multiple iconographic meanings ranging from commonly understood motifs to the very complex philosophies of the humanist literati of the time. Puri’s art is rife with symbolism where each mark, word, and image is highly meaningful. His work can also be read as performance art in the manner of buddhist or navajo indian sand paintings that encrypt mysticism within the colored sand patterns. Puri circles around his canvases for hours placing thumbprints impregnated with paint or plaster over multiple layers of inks and paints, images, and words. Unlike a buddhist mandala or native American painting that is meant to disappear through brushstrokes or strong gusts of wind, his art is a more permanent expression of performance art. Antonio Puri is a philosopher and an artist. He speaks eloquently on many topics with a passion that inspires and challenges his audience. My need to know why the artist chose specific motifs, words, colors, materials, and techniques led me to a rare five hour interview of the artist at his studio in the richmond section of Philadelphia while colleague and photographer, nancy rumfield documented each canvas.

The series took Puri two years to complete during a very productive period in his life that was also characterized by physical and emotional pain, healing and transformation. The opportunity to speak with Puri allowed me to transcend the ordinary spectrum of interpretation while at the same time confronting the flotsam and jetsam of his everyday life. In I AM, he methodically and one might say, obsessively, incorporates thumbprints, broken glass, string and the painted paths created by string, glass beads, crushed rock, clay, and photocopies of medical documents, MRIs and x ray film within layers using wax, matte medium, plaster of Paris and varnish to bind them to the canvas. For a casual observer as well as the more sophisticated viewer, these are extraordinary paintings.

One is invited to look closely upon the surface for clues into the descriptive words he chose from dozens of other labels to illustrate with an obsessive process that defines each composition. His paintings are extremely personal; some are painted as celebratory works for his son Alexander and as such, are not for sale. The inspiration for others comes from joyful or painful experiences and positive or negative personality traits such as the canvas entitled narcissist. During this interview, I was once again convinced of Puri’s charm and audacity. At the same time, I was also struck by his humility, intelligence, and willingness to bare his soul. He invites each viewer to consider their own mortality and personality quirks as they gaze upon and contemplate his abstract compositions. The series is a point of departure for other work that challenges conventional thought about the subliminal and deliberate nature of singular labels upon the psyche.

I AM consists of conceptual self-portraits where each word, thumbprint, piece of string, image or newspaper clipping are deliberately placed. These are not random markings but the outcome of a thoughtful process. The series itself is non-objective, yet the title and materials used are crucial signifiers of personality within the compositions. Puri’s intention and procedure are meditative progressions where he and his viewers lose focus on the painting itself and achieve a state of stillness and self discovery. The medium is similar for all the compositions; each caption is a synopsis of the meaning given by the artist for the paintings. Puri’s deconstruction through layering, negative space, color and texture allows for a universal reading that transcends the purely personal view of the artist. Positive, neutral and negative terms are transformed into astonishing displays of art that acknowledge the futility and the utility of labels in contemporary society.

Dr. Virginia M. da Costa is an associate professor of Art History in the department of art at West Chesteruniversity, West Chester, PA.

Installation at Penn College of Technology, Penn State, 2009