Praneet Soi

Praneet Soi defines complexity as a multiplicity of relationships, using patterns as a charged ground which activates storytelling. His oeuvre oftentimes presents itself through juxtaposition; a stream of imagery from seemingly disparate sources joined together by threads of personal experience, culminating in politicized landscapes that trace how symbols migrate across cultures, landscapes and shifting modes of perception. These patterns tend to be architecturally derived, often gleaned from Khatamband wood panelling that adorns the ceilings of traditional homes in Kashmir. Over the past decade Soi has been experimenting with traditional Kashmiri motifs with craftsmen in Srinagar, nurturing a sensitivity to pattern that bleeds into his paintings created within his Amsterdam studio. Materiality is central to Soi’s practice. The low relief of the patterns, laid out in textured ground, creates an optical effect that is offset by the experimental washes that separate them. Formal and conceptual intertwining is present in his continuing use of silverpoint, an ancient technique that looks like pencil but is in fact permanent. It oxidizes, allowing the image to gradually become warmer, much like the way traditional photographs traditionally aged. This medium allows Soi to connect drawing, central to his practice, with his extensive use of photography as reference material within his imagery.