“Sridhar has a real attachment to life. He respects the inner self of life. He has a very simple concept but he treats it with the play of colours & lines skillfully”.

- Haku Shah, 2000.
Renowned Artist

“Sridhar now-a-days works charcoal. He explores the nature human relations, both of which are in their basic nature. Sridhar wants to explore this concept. Naturally the ‘reality’ he wants to achieve is the ‘real’ reality which is introvert. He wants to play with it as a sensitive artist. Here is his statement: It is always good to ‘work’. He works with his inner mind, some times he outer reality may hamper, but he tries to be true to himself. I wish him all the best”.

- Haku Shah, 2002.
Renowned Artist

“To work with ones own ‘Truth’, ‘Sincerity’ is which is needed in any creative expression as Sridhar tries to follow it.
‘Breath’ is life and breath involves different kinds of realities. Breathe although it may be a mechanical process it involves you, which is a treasure of realities of many kinds. The work of art also breathes.
In Sridhar’s work whether it is a figure with a cow, cat, butterfly, fish or squirrel, becoming one with them, they are also treated in his own style, playing with massive process and mind. Thus achieving different moods in his paintings”.

- Haku Shah, July 2004.
Renowned Artist

“Sridhar began his journey as a true lover of nature through the serenity of sound in the nature. With a human form at the helm of expression there was a deep plunge in time alone as if the artist was trying to recognize himself and his surroundings. An arresting flora and fauna pattern expressed further yet sway in the tune to nature’s music, which has explored as relationship between men and animal. How one would be humane without the company of an animal is a question framed in each surreal expression here where animal forms possess a human body language whereas the agile human form is simply shown as device to make it complete. The question allures in faraway trees, which in their bright pinks illuminate the dark sky and barren land.

Without a layer of philosophical load Sridhar reacts to his surroundings in most naturalist’s manner to portray his pets with abundant love and so the visuals here are still and supple, obvious and translucent without the pollution of clamor and clatter”.

- Sharmila Sagara, Artist & Writer, 2004

- Amit Ambalal, December 2007.
Eminent Painter,
Director, Contemporary Art Gallery.

In these series, Sridhar’s paintings take us into a world of extraordinary variety of texture and colour, with thought-provoking images of natural, cultural and everyday objects. The sensuous enchantment which fabric textures so powerfully induce is thus not only connected with touch it is also visual, remembered, anticipatory, associative (in the sense of touch) and feeling (in the sense of inner emotions) are closely interwoven, not by coincidence. His work has both simplicity and exotic look. One feels one is looking at a glorious kaleidoscope of colours and patterns. It is informative and inspiring.

“An artist’s perception of life is always interesting. Sridhar Poluru’s images give a new dimension to the feminine form. Animals, flowers, etc evolve around the grace of the women and I enjoyed the various bhavas unleashed by these images”

I wish Sridhar all the best..

- Mrinalini Sarabhai, April 2009
Renowned Classical Dancer

“The best art of Sridhar as an artist is he is always in search of new idioms.


There, he works hard on it and tries to do something with his creative work. He is not bothered about others or market directly. He is mainly interested in figures and its relation to the outside and the inner self. You can see, experience the different phases of his work and you will find himself there expressing through his paintings.

This time he has taken social contacts in which everybody is affected in one way or the other. Mother, Shakti, and Jagruti is depicted in many ways and in different attitudes in India and that way the world. Sridhar has taken this theme and worked on it. In his own way he has taken the root and played with his expressions.

We have not given ample stress on women’s world. So, we hear many things from different parts of world. The past and present has given us lot of material to work on it. I congratulate Sridhar for working on this subject giving due respect to the past and to his own creativity”.

- Haku Shah, April 2009
Renowned Artist

“Hum Savita”

“After listening to Sridhar’s paintings of women, I hear each woman’s pronouncement “Hum Savita” meaning ‘I am the Sun’.

I recognize the gaze of Sridhar’s woman in the picture that stresses her perspective of the worldview – like the concept of ubuntu in Africa.

Day in, day out like the Sun, the woman works, produces, creates, conserves, preserves, manages, shines and hides. As the Sun, she balances the kinships and relationships of all those on the earth. The woman cuts across all boundaries. She is the continuity. She is a wife, a mother, an elder. She is the past, the present and the future. She is ever moving, awakening the globe. The globe is her home, her home the globe. Her shine brightens the future, her darkness exit the past. So does each woman in the picture telling us that she is the Sun: “Hum Savita.”

My very best wishes to Sridhar on exhibiting the woman in his perspective, as an artist”.

- Ela R Bhatt, April 2009
Founder Sewa.

“Sridhar’s theme, in this series of paintings, is on women’s awakening and their growth in every walk of life. How do we understand this term ‘Awakening’? Are women waking up from a dormant stage of their sleep, or are they ceasing their stage of siesta? This word is certainly indicating the presence of some potential in them. ‘Women started knowing and exploring their capacities’, he says. Viewer can pose a question that what is the direction of her growth in Sridhar’s understanding?

Viewers might feel that these images on display have taken a flight from the verses on mythical goddess-‘Devi Stuti’-Goddess as ‘Bestower’, a ‘Symbol of Purity’, etc. But his compositions are different from the bound agendas of such fixed textual sources. Sridhar’s narrations are not the exact illustrations of those verses. Probably he is finding visual explanations to suit this worldly woman’s life while understanding the essence of those verses. His compositions might reveal the meanings-“She is the Fire under Woods”, “She is a seed under the social soils,” “She is a letter in a sentence while spreading the knowledge.” “She is a messenger of that world of peace that is a necessary element to balance this world”, etc. Such meanings of his compositions do not define the space of that woman. She acts with reverence, irrespective of the location, whether she is in the inner walls or outer walls of the household.

The women’s Images in these compositions neither appear like a goddess figure of that world or of this real world. She is semi-abstract and hung between real and imaginary worlds. Her postures display actions but the movements are introverted. They impress upon the viewer that she is probably bogged down to slumber by the world’s mockeries of her trials to explore her potential; but they also convey that she does not give up and rises again and again. This woman pursues her aims quietly.

There are certain common elements that are found as characteristic features in every painting of this series. There is one woman-protagonist figure that dominates the compositions. Her facial features are more on the robust expression and the rendering of those features is not that sensuous for stereotypical and conventional understanding about women. The form of that woman is neither voluminous on a three dimensional format nor on the two dimensional scheme of Indian traditional paintings. The flower garland tied onto her hair-do in a semi-circular fashion appears to balance the colour composition rather than reveal a feminine gesture. There is a delicate net like growth appearing in small patches on every composition. He says it is his visual symbol to show the amount of ‘awareness growth’ within the woman or society. They look like embroidery designs done with black thread. On the whole there is a perfect continuity on lines drawn and curves of colours that take care of the viewer’s visual appreciation. Many of such design elements are merging well, enhancing the subtlety of composition. Even if the artist has applied flamboyant pinks or fluorescent greens, the colours are perfectly mixed to match that appeal. He is inspired by the traditional ‘Tankha’ paintings’ colour compositions and textile designs of block printing. He applied those elements to suit these compositions.

The paintings are explaining that women on the compositions are finding ways to transform the strength of that abstract goddess to this platform of reality. In one of the compositions, the woman depicted has taken over the striped skin and colour of the tiger-Goddess’s ‘Vahana’, as that animal symbolizes courage. Cock- a bird’s image is well merged in the background of a composition that represents the awakening-‘Jagruti’. One woman figure is standing on a lotus leaf probably to indicate that she is like a ‘water drop on a lotus leaf’ not affected by any situations and problems. Another image of a woman is engrossed in her meditation-‘Tapasya’ while fulfilling her responsibilities. One of the compositions displays ‘Kamadhenu’-a mythical cow as a metaphor for woman. This cow flies ahead of the mundane life of the house-hold along with its aspirations. This use of a cow as a metaphor for a woman is not new and has been repeatedly done in the past.

Sridhar says “I enjoy taking up a subject of social relevance and I like to read further about the topic. That is the reason why each time the body of my work differs from the previous series of paintings…”

He is depicting a rosy picture of women’s growth. The images explain that she is selflessly and diligently fulfilling the duties that are in the list of society’s demands. Compositions do not display the moods and power of Durga or Kali, alert and aggressive goddesses who shatter all obstacles in their path. Probably she is yet to find a way to realize the core of her dreams, for her own revelation, in this world of reality”.

- Balamani M, April, 2009.

“Knowledge is a multi faceted tool that shows it impact in professional world, financial security and social dynamics of a woman’s life. This gives a woman confidence to embark upon every aspect of career. It encourages her to set high goals and standards, enabling to think big and achieve even bigger targets. With this she attains poise to lead command and deliver to reach a level of empowerment. And yet the finesse is in being able to balance work and life. The quality of time you invest in each role is what matters the most, finally enjoying woman hood while perusing ambitious goals”.

- Canna Patel, April 2009
Director
HCP Interior Architecture Pvt. Ltd.