Jai Zharotia (B. 1945)

Jai Zharotia (B. 1945) Jai Zharotia never held his creativity a captive of logic and reason. His freedom of spirit let him move beyond their confines enabling him to conjure up the powerfully evocative and communicative images we see in his work today. He didn't want to paint only the comprehensible, but instead wanted to discover and explore the world that lies beyond the realms of logic. The mystery that shrouds Zharotia's work isn't simply born from the metaphysical or a questioning of one's own purpose as in some other artists' works, but finds root in the artist's personal life as well. Zharotia has found that throughout his 'existence' there have been some greater forces at work that led him to make many life-changing decisions he wouldn't have otherwise. In Zharotia's paintings, we find a series of icons that are drawn from the physical world but which, when interpreted by him, change almost magically into those that represent a world that exists only in the furthest reaches of his imagination. Zharotia's ability to leave the commonplace behind and find the unusual is seen in the technique he employs as well. His paper works are mixed media most of the time, combining tempera and pencils with watercolours. His paintings also have almost surreal two-colour backgrounds, and even the play of light and shadow he uses in them is not confined by any physical laws, just like the subject of his works.