Critics have been all praises for Porel’s paintings ever since he first exhibited them saying that it was unusual for any artist to have developed, so early in his career, a grasp of light and color that was comparable with the skills of the greatest academicians and landscapists. The principal subject of his creations are the Ornate architectural adorning, used in Indian religious sites and temples. But there is more to the artist and his work than immediately meets the eye. Unlike his predecessors, his works have a message to convey. Occasionally a figure might break the silence of stones and cities, but only to illustrate the fragility of the human condition in contrast to the eternity of architectural grace and beauty that surrounds it. In works that display an almost photographic realism, Krishnendu Porel employs a subtle interplay between light and darkness, dull and bright colors, to capture each mood he feels from the environment that he is painting, and transfer it adeptly to his canvases. The colors that Porel uses are often gloomy, like quiet greys and browns, giving a serene and calming light in the painting that strikes up a contrast and leaves viewers at peace. Whether he is painting the old colonial homes and streets of his hometown, Kolkata or the clean and crisp architecture of New Delhi, where he lives now, the artist’s meticulous attention to even the smallest detail in his work is very evident. It only takes a glance at one his paintings to feel its mood, see its movement and begin to understand its message.
