October Gallery to Present Fifth Solo Exhibition by Govinda Sah ‘Azad’

October Gallery will present “Journey to the Heart of Light”, the fifth solo exhibition by the Nepalese artist Govinda Sah ‘Azad’. The exhibition will feature his latest large-scale oil and acrylic paintings on canvas, supplemented by selected smaller-scale works.

The collection reportedly explores the artist’s personal journeys through “inner and outer realms”. Sah, who began his artistic career in the Himalayan mountains, now works from a purpose-built studio in Margate, UK. A central theme in his work is the conceptual link between the “landlocked peaks” of his origin and the “tumultuous seascapes” of his new location, connected in his imagination by atmospheric clouds and the qualities of light.

This focus on light is linked to the artist’s stated admiration for the “expressive radiance” found in J. M. W. Turner’s oil paintings. The press release notes a parallel, as Turner also travelled widely depicting mountain landscapes before becoming enthralled by the “sombre English seascapes” around Margate. Sah’s fascination with light playing through cloud layers is reportedly used as a mechanism to explore subtle emotional changes within his “inner landscape”.

Sah’s paintings are technically composed of densely interwoven layers of oil and acrylic paints. This reiterative act is described by the artist as a meditation on the enigmas of life. “Painting becomes this continual process of losing myself,” Sah states. “Knowledge exists outside all of us and, for me, painting is the activity by which I reach out to discover it”.

This new body of work is said to represent a shift in scale for the artist, who has previously addressed “grand themes unfolding on cosmic scales,” including “intergalactic spaces”. The current canvases reportedly focus on microcosmic subjects, such as “coastal tide-pools, half-hidden underwater coves and intricate rock formations”. The artist’s ability to move between macro and microcosm is noted. In reference to the work, philosopher Anthony Blake has written that Sah’s “canvases are windows into primordial worlds and the mystery of how nothing becomes something”.

Govinda Sah ‘Azad’ (b. 1974, Nepal) studied at Wimbledon College of Art, obtaining an MA in Fine Art in 2008. His first solo exhibition at October Gallery, Transcriptions, was held in 2011, followed by Lightness of Being (2013), Boundless Possibilities (2016), and Absence Presence (2022-2023). His work was included in the 2012 Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, London.

Exhibition Details