Nature Morte presents a solo exhibition of paintings by Kodanda Rao Teppala. Most of the works in the exhibition can be regarded as landscapes, yet Rao’s landscapes bustle with people and seem to be about society, certainly not pristine nature. Often, we see a large expanse of territory from a bird’s eye view, with a great deal of activity below, often large crowds coalescing into formations, at other times a sprinkling of participants.
His palette is unnatural, contrasting acid tones with synthetic colors, perhaps alerting us to a planet which is drastically changing before our eyes. Figures are usually in the far distance, appearing insect-like, bringing an epic scale of time to the events portrayed. Even a pair of large-scale paintings of flowering trees present the natural world as artifice, steeped in cultural detritus.
Find out more about the show here.