R.B. Murari is a Chennai-based Indian artist specialising in associating beauty with non-objective forms through a brilliant and atypical fusion of colours. He derives inspiration from his wave of emotions and thoughts that have found their way through his canvas whilst helping him explore his deepest abstract feelings. To him, art is a process to discover himself as he embarks on a creative journey to connect with the unknown. Murari’s works are a statement of an artist’s emotions laid bare for the world to experience the thoughts of an artist in a visual form.
The artist does not conform to a uniform theme, a particular topic or a style of painting, since he treats art like an ongoing journey, every artwork he creates is different from the other. His works are synonymous with a visually abstract journal that aims to communicate experiences, observations and emotions. Each piece is a dimension with emotional tales that the artist has travelled and will continue to travel to attain a goal he hasn’t yet achieved.
Hailing from a family of renowned artists like S. Dhanapal and R.B. Bhaskaran who were his grandfather and father, Murari grew up surrounded by the smell of turpentine, acrylics and oil paints. Contrary to the assumption that he might’ve been inspired by their works, Murari took inspiration from within himself instead. He believes that each artist and their work is unique in its own way and comparison leads to the meaning of the works being lost. As much as his family members create works that have an ambition or aim to convey some message, Murari’s works are rather peculiar in nature since it doesn’t aim to convey a social message, show what’s happening around him or create them to be commercially attractive, his works are an extension of his mind and a representation of feelings that cannot be expressed.
Murari treats his canvas like an independent field where colours can blend or take non-objective forms in every possible shape, curve or design. According to him, he does not determine when the work is complete, but the work itself. The works convey the need for him to continue creating them until he is permitted to stop. His idiosyncratic style is evident in all of his works which remains to be the only uniform element that distinguishes him from the rest.
To the outside world, Murari may not be considered a full-time artist since he has a day job to earn a living and practices his art when he is home, but to him, there is no such thing as being a full-time artist. When asked about it, he explained that art was his love and one cannot be in love 24/7 365 days a year whether it's with a person or a hobby. It's a relationship where other emotions such as sadness and neutrality coexist with love.
While the world critiques him for not conforming his works to a commercially attractive standard, Murari aims to continue exploring himself through his creative journey as he has always been. Art to him has always been a personal journey where he could express himself freely and go beyond conventional boundaries. Murari has been an artist who has not only stories to narrate but a journey to make through art that will inspire generations of aspiring artists who will similarly create pieces to express their true selves and show the world what the mind of an artist looks like. With the growing digital era that has swept the world, there will be more mediums for artists to explore, Murari aims to leave a mark in the medium all while looking forward to his destination as he takes a journey to the unknown.