Jatin Khan
Nationality: Trinidad and Tobago
Born: India
Lives: India
www.jatinkhanart.com
Twitter: @jatinkhan01
Instagram: @jatinkhanart
Jatin Khan was born in 1985 and brought up in Mumbai, India. His mother was a pop superstar in India in the 1990s. His father is a veteran Director of Photography of motion pictures in the Indian Film Industry. His grandfather was a legendary dialogue and screenplay writer as well as a very highly regarded novelist and a historian par excellence.
It is essential to speak about his family background because it gives a mental picture of the artistic environment that he was raised in. he was actively involved in the performing arts with his mother as a child and performed in concerts nationally as well as internationally. He has assisted his father in the capacity of Chief Cinematography assistant and camera operator in 5 motion pictures. The experiences operating the camera strongly instilled the fundamentals of lighting, composition, golden points and other various elements of the visual language of the frame.
The other aspect of his life has been his education. He dropped out of med school and went forward and did his Bachelors in Chemistry from St Xavier’s College. Shortly after completing his graduation he got selected into the Film and Television Institute of India (F.T.I.I) which is one of the best film schools in the world. He did his post-graduation there for two years where he further refined his skills in the visual and performing arts. Not too long after his stint in film school, his constant quest for learning pushed him towards the Law. He persuaded it and 3 years later acquired his LLB.
For all practical purposes, he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but in time, life happened and the family descended into major financial uncertainty. Growing up rich and then subsequently broke, was one of his biggest teachers. Especially about relationships, friends, family and above all, real values, humanity and humility. In spite of all adversities, half his head continues to remain smiling in the clouds, while the other half stays firmly rooted to the ground.
His life has been colorful and full of rich experiences, good and bad, which has contributed to his evolution. He is at this point the sum total of all experiences be it from family, education or just life in general. But of all things, painting has to be the most accidentally freakish thing to have ever happened to him. And here we are……..
Painting happened to me by accident. My father used to paint in his younger days and he was quite good at it. In January 2018, in an effort to get him to restart, I bought a couple of canvases and a set of oil paints for him and decided to give him company. Quite unexpectedly, the floodgates opened, and I’ve been thoroughly hooked since. Knowingly or unknowingly I found myself evolving with each work I created. I devoted the initial months to studying the physicality of the medium of oil paints.
Major driving forces for my work include my fascination with entropy, theology, quantum chaos and astronomy, along with their mythological significance, especially when whenever they converge towards a coherent and comprehensible narrative. The philosophy behind my work is the celebration and channeling of the vibration of these events, be it celestial, locally energetic, or both.
When I paint, I give in to my aesthetic fetishes in a completely uninterrupted manner, not giving the mind a chance to stop me to interpret and analyze. There is no analysis, just pure uninterrupted free flowing energy. In whichever direction it takes me, I follow, without judgment or resistance. Whenever I reflect upon a certain event as a subject for my work, either the final image will flash before me in a moment of inspiration, or the interpretation of the event will intuitively and emotionally lead me to certain colours which l use without any mental or visual limitations.
What also fascinate me are the aspects and definite forms of the geometry of shapes and their spatial arrangement. Sharp edges, solid shape and structure are elements that inspire me. They are bold, certain, purposeful and imposing.
Abundance is also a big driving force for me. When I refer to abundance, I don’t mean material abundance. I mean abundance of thought and of expression; not letting the mind impose any restrictions or limitations whatsoever, pushing the mind beyond what it perceives as possible. That in my opinion is what Art is all about. It is about creation. Creation, again, in my opinion, can only come from an unrestricted mind. Different artists according to their respective styles, set different parameters within which they execute their creation. But once those parameters are set, the commonality underlying all styles of Art, ultimately, is creation from an unrestricted mind. Of course, when creation gets complimented with skill, the quality of the Art vastly improves. I am currently in this stage of study; acquiring and building skills, refining my drawing abilities, improving upon my current understanding of the mechanics of interpretation and spatial arrangement of objects. The intention is to always remain a student. But creation is and always will be my primary focus.
To quote Picasso, “Explanation Kills Art”. This is a philosophy that i deeply resonate with. Jargon related to one’s imagery tends to color opinions and perceptions. It dilutes the true perception and experience of the work and is something I try to stay far away from. My objective is to become skillful to the point, that skill becomes second nature to me. It is a continuously evolving process. I strive to keep learning, evolving, trying my hand at as many different styles of imagery as possible and never saying no, only a yes to the universe and all that it has to offer. It is an intentional direction I choose to take, so that I don’t get stuck in any particular mold or color palette and paint in only that way for the rest of my life. Getting stuck in one’s comfort zone and inevitably excelling at it, in my opinion tends more towards craft than skill rather than art. To me, Art many be finite in its material form but Art is infinite with respect to subjects and colors and hence emotions that can be experienced thereof. There is just so much to experience, one cannot get bogged down into a comfort zone, at least that’s how I see it .My objective is to always try and move out of my comfort zone by exploring all possible facets of my style and keep building on it .
Bottom line, I just love to paint and all I want to do is keep painting. Im excited to live this journey and see where it takes me.
Who would you like to buy your art? A famous person? What would you tell him/her about your art so he would buy it?
Every single piece is unique and resonates at its own particular frequency. I would advise my buyer to see if the painting resonates with them and their unique energy signature. Different buyers would experience different stories within the same painting.
What is your definition of art?
Art is the creation and evocation of emotion.
Where do you get your inspiration?
The Self.
How do you deal with artist's block?
For me, an artist block arises when the mind tries to step in and analyze, rationalize and justify actions, which in turn leaves us doubting our own judgment and self-belief. I believe that all these are manifestations of the analytical left brain, which I consciously try and shut down when I paint, in an attempt to stay in the creative flow of the right brain. Its either I paint or I don’t paint, I don’t get stuck in-between.
Where do you see your art going in ten years?
On Mars.
I know my artwork is finished when…?
That is a tricky one….Art can never be finished. Art is infinite. But there is a moment when you reach an emotional peak of satisfaction which I intuitively listen to and just stop. The trick is listening to that subtle and elusive feeling.
Which are your favorite artists?
Caravaggio, Leonardo Da Vinci, Titian, Rembrandt, Monet, Constable, Turner, Picasso, S.H Raza , Mark Rothko , Hilma Af Klint