The dancer on the horse

The Dancer on the Horse: Reflections on the Art of Iranna G.R. is a meditation on the life and work of the artist. The image of the dancer on the horse refers to a self-portrait by this name. This balancing act is a metaphor for the artist’s obligation to find the right relationship between the private space of the studio and the public space of the gallery. Environments are very important sources of inspiration for Iranna, who responded to the heated politics of a nation striving to modernise itself. From 2000 he became preoccupied with the idea of the police state. He painted sinister works such as Keep Smiling in which three figures, suspects or captives, stand with their backs to the viewer. Their heads are marked with squares as though they are seen through the sights of a weapon which may be used to execute them. Iranna’s art is thought to be a stylistic challenge to post-modernism, using instead the representative and idealistic language of contemporary Indian painting. Like the dancer on the horse, Iranna balances his inner spirituality with the technical demands of the artistic medium, producing work which is both moving and aesthetically pleasing.