“The Expelled’ (1945) :
Memories are killing. So you must not think of certain things, of those that are dear
to you, or rather you must think of them, for if you don’t there is the danger of
finding them, in your mind, little by little. That is to say, must think of them for a
while, a good while, every day several times a day, until they sink forever in the
mud. That’s an order.

Beckett knows, of course, that nothing is “forever,” and that he can hardly
obey his own order to put the matter behind him. “Little by little,” those
“killing” memories return.

Samuel Beckett

Beckett was a perfectionist, but can one be a perfectionist without an
intuition of perfection? Today, with the passage of time, we see how false
were the labels first stuck on Beckett – despairing, negative, pessimistic.
indeed, he peers into the filthy abyss of human existence. His humour
saves him and us from falling in, he rejects theories, dogmas, that offer
pious consolations, yet his life was a constant, aching search for meaning.
He situates human beings exactly as he knew them in darkness. Constantly
they gaze through windows, in themselves, in others, outwards, sometimes
upwards, into the vast unknown. He shares their uncertainties, their pain.
But when he discovered theatre, it became a possibility to strive for unity,
a unity in which sound, movement, rhythm, breath and silence all come
together in a single rightness. This was the merciless demand he made
on himself – an unattainable goal that fed his need for perfection. Thus
he enters the rare passage that links the ancient greek theatre through
shakespeare to the present day in an uncompromising celebration of one
who looks truth in the face, unknown, terrible, amazing …

Alliance Francaise de Chandigarh Solo Art Show July 2009

Solo Art Show Alliance Francaise July 2009 Chandigarh

Solo Art Show Alliance Francaise July 2009 Chandigarh

Solo Art Show Alliance Francaise July 2009

Alliance Francaise Solo Art ShowArt Show

Solo Art Show Alliance Francaise July 2009

Inauguration by Specially Abled Children from Prayaas School

Inauguration by Specially Abled Children from Prayaas School, Sector 38, Chandigarh.

Tribune Art Review

Fact and Fiction

Anu Dheer's painting exhibition weaves reality with fiction
- Ashima Sehajpal
Any work of fiction surfaces from reality. It's is an offshoot, the facts and actual life with its base. The two, fiction and reality, when juxtaposed, result in creativity. So when, Anu Dheer, a city based amateur artist began working on, 'The absolute quiet of something about to arrive', a series of paintings a year back, she realised the interspersion of the two better, "The subject matter of the series, human being and his connection with the surroundings mirrors reality, and how I visualise the relation between the two is fiction, but again with a backdrop of reality."
In her series of fifteen paintings, done with acrylic and oil, she has put on canvas, diverse relationships, good or bad between man and nature, supernatural factors, technological advances, environment degradation, even callous actions like female foeticide. She reasons her portraying the man's connection with his surroundings, "Whatever we are today is a result of our efforts, deeds and more importantly how our surroundings have reacted to it. Our culture and society contribute to our growth in a certain way."
Her painting, 'The anarchy of profit' depicts a human being caught in the spiral progression of technology and how he is bearing its burden, "We are profiting from technology but after paying a price in the form of polluted environment." She has in the similar way portrayed various ills of the society.
In, 'Perils of the cashmere twilight', the message that comes across is, we need to be wise and patient to resolve the Kashmir issue, "In the painting, the white elephant symbolises peace and charkha placed on it conveys message that we should resort to the path of peace shown by Mahatma Gandhi."
After having painted all the major social issues, she felt one on the present political scenario was a must and thus came the 'License to Skill', "If politicians intend, they can use their power to develop the society. I have denoted them through stones, which can be used for destruction or can be considered as idols. It depends on how they want to use their power."
It was quite natural for her to paint one on female foeticide; a subject she feels will affect all individuals in some or the other way in the coming times. The piece, 'Departure from the land of goddess' depicts the same with cracks on barren land that will merge only when the society will give due respect to women. Female foeticide will also be the theme of her next series.
The exhibition is on display at the Alliance Francaise de- 36, till July 31.

Indian Express Art Review

Colours of Conviction

- Parul

Posted: Sunday , Jul 19, 2009

Her paintings are a representation of humanity, our ethos, human condition. While in some Anu Dheer understands the situation, in others she paints her opinion. Be it the travails of urbanization, man’s disconnect with the natural world, our streak of materialism, subtly she puts across her concerns, but there are no negative colours or images...A solo show by the self-taught artist, titled ‘The Absolute Quiet of Something About to Arrive’, Anu had the show inaugurated by specially abled children from Prayaas School. “They have a special place in my heart and I hope to do some work for and with them and they will be the subject of my next series,’’ the painter also wants to do a series on female foeticide too.
The exhibition puts forward a rich collection of paintings to show and explore the arena of the unseen metamorphosis of cultural ethos and the human condition. “It’s sad we are moving away from nature though we belong there,’’ Anu’s paintings, like the Perils of Cashmere Twilight, explores the situation in Kashmir, where the human element is miniscule. The Complexity of Being Divine Being Divine, explores the critical role and attitude. The images are often like cryptic clues, which assist one to decode the invested meaning that is disguised through oblique and elaborate devices of representation. Dheer, in this way offers an alternative visual strategy for commentary on the value systems that inform Indian cultural core. “My art is not just a dialogue about my personal experiences, it is a metaphor for the universal conflicts of modern life,’’ she uses familiar objects and alters or isolates their value and initiates a visual dialogue. The exhibition is on at the Alliance Francaise till July 31.

Alliance Francaise Art Show 2009

Discussing art

Alliance Francaise Solo Art Show 2009

July 2009 - Anu Dheer's maiden solo art show. 15 works - acrylic & oil on canvas.