KYNKYNY was founded in 2004 by the husband and wife duo Namu Kini and Vivek Radhakrishnan. With an aim to make the fascinating world of Indian art more accessible to the world, KYNKYNY supports emerging and established artists – offering a highly curated selection of original and authentic artworks. Since its inception, KYNKYNY has worked with over 300 artists from all over India and has shipped its art across the globe; from Dubai and Lithuania to Australia and Brazil.

Five contemporary artists – HR Das, Nishant Dange, Kandi Narsimalu, Sachin Jalatare and Vivek Kumavat – take us on an exhilarating spin through imagined worlds, mythical land and fantastical places in KYNKYNY’s latest exhibition. Rich in indigenous inspiration, spectacular in scope and full of dazzling versatility, ‘…’ brings to life epic tales and timeless themes that unfold across a variety of settings and geographies. On view from … to …, the artworks are multifaceted and feature sweeping stories from Indian mythology, vibrant snapshots of village life and sublime portraits of ethereal women. The collection of works spans the mystical as well as the earthy and folkloric: majestic, larger than life bulls take centrestage alongside mesmerising fable-like art depicting the dance of the divine forces, Shiva and Shakti. All of these overlapping and diverging narrative strands wind together to create a brilliant artistic cosmos filled with insight, depth and feeling.

Mysterious and hypnotic, Nishant Dange’s body of art is an ode to the ethereal female form. The dreamy women starring in his artworks seem faraway and mystical – with their eyes shut, they appear self-contained, meditative and inward-looking. The enigmatic charcoal works evoke a world of primal feminine energy where butterflies, doves and flora – symbols of spirit and the feminine – fuse with human silhouettes and faces in a state of oneness. Lit by a gauzy interplay of shadow and light, the luminous faces of the women possess a tough delicacy, just like the butterflies that surround them (which Dange establishes as a symbol of metamorphosis throughout his works). The aura of moodiness is heightened by the medium that the Mumbai-based artist uses. Dark charcoal adds drama, creates contrast with the imagery portrayed in bold primary colours and lends a photographic aesthetic and dreamlike quality to his paintings.

Casting an entrancing spell, Sachin Jaltare’s art is a collision of opposites, depicting the wild tango of creation and destruction, humanness and divinity, and form and formlessness. Mirage-like shapes and fragments of beautiful women with cascading hair and rugged, chiselled men are set against mysterious landscapes coloured in a shadowy and nocturnal palette. Boundless and fluid, the Hyderabad-based artist’s atmospheric mixed media works combine elements of abstraction and figuration and seamlessly blend the indigenous with the contemporary. Traditional symbols and imagery from floating flower petals to fiery bindis fleck the paintings, as the contours of the men and women blur and coalesce into a unified whole.The artworks which are a mixture of acrylic and charcoal, evoke a transcendent state, and represent the merging of yin and yang, masculine and feminine energies and Shiva and Shakti.

Mighty bulls are the heroes of HR Das’s acrylics on canvas. Reverberating with energy, wildness and joy, the kinetic beasts represent the ‘Nandi’ or sacred bull that is revered in Hindu mythology. They also embody the earthy spirit and essence of pastoral life in rural India, where cows and bulls hold a central place. Das, who grew up in West Bengal, uses the omnipresent bull as a metaphor to explore a variety of emotions and states of being: bovine beings frolic, charge, wander and bask across his paintings, and display a variety of moods that range from powerful and vital to playful and endearing. The abstract, bold backgrounds that the bulls are depicted against accentuate the raw magnificence of the bulls, while also suffusing the works with a distinctly contemporary aesthetic.

Kandi Narsimlu’s vivid and distinctive artworks depict rural Telangana in all its charm and colour. The Hyderabad-based artist paints a quintessential and authentic slice of village life with tenderness, intimacy and warmth. Rich in emotion and chromatic detail, the artworks not only capture the flavours and poignancy of typically rustic settings, people and interactions, but also spotlight often overlooked facets of indigenous culture like traditional jewellery and bright, vivacious clothing. The use of a distinctly contemporary idiom and aesthetics – like the wide-eyed, stylised figures of the men and women and their blue and green complexions – adds an unusual twist to the otherwise traditional subject matter. Narsimlu revels in fleshing out intricacies and minutiae, like the vivid patterns on people’s clothing and the objects they carry, including umbrellas and beedi and tiffin boxes.

The majestic Indian bull is a powerful muse for Maharashtra-based artist, Vivek Kumavat. His radiant acrylics on canvas feature embellished, ornamented bovines full of strength and gentleness. Depicted in a state of joyous movement with prancing hooves and playfully swinging heads, the artworks celebrate their cultural and spiritual significance as the sacred sentinels of Shiva.The looming form of the folk-like, artistically contoured bull or Nandi is placed over minimal, monochrome backdrops of striking reds, oranges and ochre in richly layered and textured paintings. Inspired by the tradition of Pattachitra (scroll painting from West Bengal), the body of the Nandi serves as an astonishing canvas over which intricate and colourful mythological scenes and stories unfold.