Selected Bibliography
* Information bombards us constantly, so much that the comprehension and assimilation of such a barrage of material often creates a void,
a gulf where the spirit, the core, and idea of self are often lost. Little room and less encouragement are left for creative exploration and
artistic contemplation, and all eyes are on the bottom line; the return on investment, the upswing in the market, the approaching oil spill,
and onward and through the endless list. Changes are afoot, however, and exhibitions such as Jeet Aulakh's Anahada Naada attempt to raise
awareness regarding the plurality of spiritual expressions and embrace the notion of the sublime in contemporary art. Aulakh utilizes subject
matter rich in spirituality and ripe with reference to both the sublime and the transcendent. He takes a stand with his paintings, responding
to the negative aspects of deconstructive and, in many cases, self-destructive 21st century, nihilism, the loss of self, a world devoid of
meaning - all maladies, often associated, in essence, with the loss of the spiritual.
- Mandy Salter, Curator
* Born in Punjab, Canadian artist Jeet Aulakh participates in a rich and varied cultural and social history in which notions of humanity
are indivisible into secular and spiritual realms. A central theme in Indian philosophy is the ultimate release from the subservience of
life and all its contingent aspects: to be detached from life by the realization of the "absolute supreme principal," which is itself
beyond definition. The goal is to achieve, through inner realization, a reintegration into this indefinable absolute realm. Aulakh ably
depicts this other abstract realm through the use of floating circles of saturated colour seemingly floating in the dark to evoke cosmic
cycles in which human history and individual identity is peripheral. The radiant world of the enraptured, disembodied soul is undiminished
by this enveloping cosmic darkness. His images suggest a cosmic egg from which the manifest world is born. Similar compositional strategies
are found throughout the history of Indian art including a remarkable 19th century painting in the Ajit Mookerjee collection, Calcutta, of
Bindu, the "cosmic seed" that shows the cosmos emerging through an image of three circles, each containing more concentric circles and
dots resonating like sound waves from the centre. Striving to reveal through geometric abstraction what remains incomprehensible, Aulakh,
through his use of glowing circles of colour, gives form to what is formless and cohesive totality to individual consciousness. The universe -
unperceived, unattainable by reasoning, unknowable - is revealed through our relationship to cosmic forces which appear in the Laws of Manu
with irresistible creative power to displace the darkness. Aulakh's celestial circles are irreducible: they are void of narrative or symbolic
content. They suggest the way in which the distinctions between varying avenues to spiritual enlightenment are illusory despite separate names
and forms. His is a minimalist and conceptual approach to spirituality informed by the rich history of Indian culture in which one finds countless
references to cosmic consciousness such as: I am the luster of the sun, moon, and stars; I am the music of the spheres. Earth, air, ether, water,
fire, the ego, cosmic intelligence... I am all of these... I am knowledge and realization. Nothing whatsoever exists without me or beyond me.
- James Patten, Curator
* Spirituality has always been a primary and significant subject throughout the history of art.
In the last century, a number of visual artists turned from representation to abstraction as a means of giving formal expression to
spiritual themes and content. In Ajapa Jaapa, Jeet Aulakh adapts the circle and the square -- two recurring formal symbols spanning
a variety of spiritual, religious and mythological systems -- to embody and reflect three decades of personal spiritual experience.
Aulakh’s hard-edged geometric images bring to mind the work of Quebec artist Claude Tousignant in terms of form. However, the meditative
mood they produce suggests the work of American artist Mark Rothko.
These contemplative works speak to a sense of universal fluidity, continuity, balance and harmony in contrast to the manic chaos and
confusion that assaults our collective soul on a daily basis.
- Robert Reid, Art Critic
* Jeet Aulakh is a deeply spiritual painter, all his body of work reflecting that mystery, magnetism and magic usually associated with music.
To me, the key to his paintings is to think of them as sounds, recorded on canvas and ready to be played for the tuned-in spiritual receptor.
He is deeply rooted in his spiritual heritage, where meditation plays a crucial role and his body of work reflects that…a tranquility,
an isolation but also a way of communication. The sound of his works is not a sharp, loud one, but a muted, almost murmured whisper.
His receptor is the whole universe, and Jeet is able to send his messages and to receive that spiritual richness which enables him to find
new ways, new images, and new sounds. The colours are blending into one another in a gradual transition suggesting fluidity, continuity and
a sense of equilibrium coming from a very spiritual inner soul.
If Bertram Brooker was the first Canadian painter to put sounds on the canvas, as in the “Sounds Assembling” of 1928, Jeet is continuing the
tradition and is enriching it with new meanings of harmony, rhythm and soul-deep introspection.
- Sandu Sindile, Art Critic and Curator
* Jeet Aulakh, through his floating faces, expresses the haunting anguish and hollowness of a tormented mind seeking answers to questions that could
shake the basis of existence. His present work on Yoga, Shakti and Chakra… renders the calmness and peace experienced by one who has been through
the enlightening phenomenon of super consciousness. The juxtaposition of geometric shapes urges the viewer to understand the complexity of
the higher scheme of super conscious. It is an attempt to open the secret door between matter and mind. His work clearly shows his own journey
towards a supreme goal.
- Seema Bhalla, Art Critic and Historian
* We all know that art, which expresses life, is as mysterious as life itself. It escapes all formulas, as life does. Fact is that it is only by listening to the heart that one can speak of art without belittling it. We are all, in some measure, partakers of the truth. But we cannot know the truth itself, unless we desire passionately to seek it, and having found it, feel the enthusiasm to proclaim it widely. Only he who permits the divine voices to sing within him knows how to respect the mystery of the work, which inspired him to induce other men to share in the emotion.
This preamble is surely apt as we think of the poet artist Jeet Aulakh, for he has behind him the same universal depth of humanity, whether enthusiastic or melancholy. He has also behind him the same secret nature, which broadens each of an artist’s steps surely. He feels humanity’s common joys, and it so that he lives its grief’s and its inner victories. Aulakh can feel and dominate creation. It is how he gives us those permanent realities, which reveal truth. The artistic realities survive the changes of human society, as the mass of the sea survives the agitation of the surface. So Aulakh, living in Canada and one with it, never the less combines in him, the new world and an ancient long lasting one. And so also the harmonization is reflected in his art both in images and the poetic phrase. He has the abiding need to probe into the depth, to sense the mystery of that same beauty that is in nature, and in the timelessness that the sensitive part in us senses so intensely.
His works initiate us into certain profound expenence whose possession on would enable us to bring about within and around us the supreme harmony, which is the goal of our endeavors. To be more specific about Aulakh’s paintings; some of those are of bare outlines of human visages. But Aulakh remains totally devoted to the recording of appearances of the inner world. To paint these sounds easy, but a record of perceptual sensations, inevitably involves the artist’s conscious craft knowledge as well. He succeeds in these dual functions. There is in his work an awareness of cosmic movement, embodied in the brushwork and handwork of his paintings. The space both behind and in front of the picture’s surface is increasingly apparent, just as the depth of the water or the vaults of the sky are.
- Keshav Malik, Art Critic and Historian
* Jeet Aulakh, the Punjab born poet and painter, displays a healthy penchant in his works for mystery laden landscapes, characteristic heads and other forms of spiritual art. Aulakh displays good handling of color and is careful about compositional quality of his works.
No doubt, a poet-painter Aulakh has to perceive and represent things differently by virtue of his different sense of rhythm and views about life. However, what stands him in good steed is the fact that he could translate his experiences into an imagery of his own personal touch and a different feel than most of the contemporaries.
His works also provide the audience enough space and time for introspection while reacting to his mystery drenched landscapes that lead one to the high heavens of hope, beauty and tranquility. And this process is like a seed sprouting from the dark depths if earth and reaching out for the sky.
- RS Yadav, Art Critic
* Jeet Aulakh has exceptional ability to expand in colors while his poetry transcends infinite passion that connects straightway to the mind of the reader. Born on the same day as 19th c. Swiss Artist Paul Klee, he developed an excessive innovative and creative approach naturally. In his modern works, his roots and heritage remain his priority. One can feel sensitivity and peace in his negative space. There is strong and controlled
discipline in colors and brush strokes.
- Prof. Marie Prociw, Art Critic
* In his work, there are mystical elements of nature leading towards the path of isolation, solitary and deep silence. There is endless meditation in his non-objective subject matter, scrupulously created through an emotional subconscious mind. His use of colors, symbols and strokes brings a metamorphosis reflecting his own deeply psychological and analytical nature on one side and timeless space on the other. The thought process running behind his artistic abilities reveals some hidden aspects of life those are beyond immediate experience and introspection.
* By his early childhood, Aulakh had started drawing sketches on the walls, ground or anything he found as medium.
He grew up with exceptional interest of painting and an intense desire to follow his unknown world of dreams.
He was a brilliant student of his time but generally found daydreaming and strayed by his wandering thoughts.
Before he went to the university for higher studies, he had acquired a unique style of painting portrait, landscape and imaginary theme.
His early paintings are examples of his mature and established style at his teenage.
His poetry in early 90's depicts emotions of deep love, union and separation.
After graduation with a BA from Panjab University in 1993, he spent few years travelling and sketching in eastern, northern and southern India.
In 1999, he migrated to Canada where he continues to live and work.
- The Tribune
* Jeet Aulakh’s Poetry depicts the longing and writhing of a separated soul. While doing so, the poet takes the course to the folk lore and folk idiom. Rhyme and rhythm captivates the heart
of the reader who is transported to the traditional craving for the unknown. Some of his poems are in tune with classical poets of our age. In the words of Robert Browning, it can be said
about Aulakh also that in his outpourings there is “infinite passion, and the pain of the finite heart that yearns.”
- Prof. NS Tasneem, Writer
* Jeet Aulakh creates an air of mystery and magnetism through his work. His work is careful, yet deliberate, which provokes deep contemplation and connection with cosmos. The mysteries are revealed to become another mystery in his supernatural heads, soaked with color, water and coal, perpetually created with fingers.
- Ashley Goodfellow, Art Critic
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