Cosmic abstraction: Mukherjee spins the wheel  Untitled image by
Sandeep Mukherjee. Untitled image by Sandeep Mukherjee.
According to Hindu lore, when Krishna was a child, his adoptive
human mother suspected him of eating dirt. She demanded he open
his mouth to show her, and when she peered within she glimpsed
the cosmos in its entirety. Seeing her overwhelmed with
amazement, Krishna cleared her memory of the incident.  This
story came to mind while looking at Sandeep Mukherjee's large
abstract paintings, currently on view at Second Street Gallery.
Born in India and trained as an industrial engineer prior to
studying art in California, Mukherjee brings the whole of his
multivalent and layered background to bear in his work. His
acrylic and ink compositions on Duralene combine regulated
geometric structures with watery randomness, matte surfaces with
glossy reflective areas, the sensation of looking into deep
space with the impression of looking at cells under a
microscope. The longer the viewer studies Mukhe