Aristotle and the Greeks applied a standard of beauty that was measured in three distinct qualities: they were symmetry, proportion and harmony. This was held true for and across all aspects and endeavours in their society. It was known as the Golden Mean.

It is in this very tradition we see Greeks such as Socrates and Plato, prior to Aristotle, who were great advocates of equating ‘Truth’ to Beauty. As well as extolling the greatness and the need of applying mathematics to understanding, de-coding and thereby classifying what that Beauty was.

The Ancients, be it the Greeks, The Chinese, or Vedic Indians had (and still do have) traditions and schools that were (are) solely dedicated to the search of form and line dictated by very specific ‘qualities’ or ingredients’ of Beauty; thereby creating a uniform framework for judgment and classification.

Today modern contemporary standards are biased perhaps on a genetic and evolutionary level by the math and science of beauty - however cultural inclinations, stereotypes and learnt pre-dispositions whether they be of a positive or negative nature, have a lot to answer for trends in Beauty such as, the never ending strive to attain a Size Zero or the desirability of a tan v/s those who wish to lighten their skin.

In the year 2011, Beauty and Man are in conflict, as the question - What is Beauty?, remains unresolved for Man as a species. The very notion of Beauty has been redefined and restructured time and time again. So much so, that critical theorists have assigned a separate school of introspection, inquiry and theory to research and purport around the question and notion of Beauty, they call it –The Theory of Aesthetics, or more succinctly Aesthetics Theory.

There are many facets to Man’s understanding and classification of Beauty. They may be of a religious or spiritual nature, a scientific or mathematical nature and of course base and sensual aspects of human nature such as lust and desire which have invariably driven these transient definitions of Beauty.

There have been and continues till this day a huge debate about the differences between what the Greeks identified as EROS AND AMOS> Love and Lust. For our show and current discussion such distinctions are immaterial and we MOVE BEYOND them, as both have inspired beautiful forms.

Have the measures artists implement to create and society uses to judge moved beyond Aristotle’s Golden Mean? The observation – contemporary scientific views have not been able to move beyond the trifecta of Greek Beauty - symmetry, proportion and harmony and infact have titled a new measure for beauty for humans - the Golden Ratio! What this means for the creation of Art can only truly be answered by the artist her/himself.

As observer one can identify that the Visual Arts have always tried to either realistically depict form or then break away and recreate the very forms that inhabit our physical world. The lead inhabitant of course being Man and thus the lead subject for
artists has always been the human body.

The Artists for this show are no different, their inspiration is the world they live in, be it the human body or nature, exploring the notions of Beauty that pervade their time and place.

Finding herself on many a canvas, given form in wood, marble, plastic and caught in motion and captured as a still on film and through photography, the human body has had a journey in the realm of visual representation that has been greatly influenced by the notions of Beauty that prevailed in that particular society at that particular time. The
work of Art was either an affirmation of that time or a rebellion.

Art as artefact and social document is highlighted in these moments of creation, where artist and his world co- join through the creative act.

The works displayed and created for this show - Moving Beyond – truly depart through their representation and creation, from a singular definition of what Beauty is and moving towards imagination and the creation of new forms.

This body of work is not only unusual but in fact- a representation of the varied spaces of inspiration visual artists find within the physical world.

Exploring and creating on paper, canvas, wood, or other - to present to the viewer, form embedded in the mythical or real, anonymous or christened. So, that aspect of the beautiful is presented to us by the artist(s), which s/he wishes to explore and expose through their chosen medium. Some artists choose form, others the subject beneath that form, telling us a story from their inner imagination, pouring out into the viewer’s world.

Art has the quality to transcend the physical barrier and enter the realm of the ephemeral, allowing the viewer to simply move beyond