Young artist experiments with Madhubani art
21/02/2018
New Delhi, Feb 20: Madhubani and the Colosseum may be a world apart but artist Neha Dasgupta has done the rather impossible job of making the twain meet. Her paintings, which borrow heavily from the ancient Madhubani art form named after the district in Bihar's Mithila region, are somewhat like a travelogue on canvas. The ancient amphitheatre in Rome has made its way into the works of the young artist, who has put on canvas other famed monuments of the world. Dasgupta's maiden exhibition at the India Habitat Centre this week is not just about monuments but also the many cities she has travelled through.
This exhibition is based on my travels the pieces included are not just monuments like Eiffel Tower, Colosseum or the Statue of Liberty. I have paintings inspired by various cities. The idea was to put my travels down on paper, the Delhi-based artist, who displayed over 20 painting at the exhibition, told PTI.
So, there is a painting depicting a fishing party in Kolkata and one showing the celebratory mood at the Jaipur Literature Festival. The history student, who describes herself as not the neatest person , gives the opposites attract theory as the reason for her love for the 2,500-year-old art form. There s always a hurricane brewing in my cupboards. But since opposite attract, the order in Madhubani-inspired lines, motifs, fishes, curves that I turn to at the end of a long day have always helped me calm down, said Dasgupta. The artist likes using ink, brush and paint as her tools, rather than the traditional twigs, rice paste, mud and natural paint used by Madhubani artists.
I borrow heavily from Madhubani or Mithila art every time I sit down before a blank canvas. However, I am not a Madhubani painter per se, something that you can see from my drawings, she added. Dasgupta says she takes about 10 days to make a large painting and two-three hours for the medium sized ones. Give the artist a cup brimming over with coffee, some music, and she is ready to create a masterpiece. My painting for the day starts around 10 am and then with small breaks... I continue to work till about 2-3 in the morning. It's a backbreaking labour of love, but ultimately completely worth it, she added. Almost like a ritual, she switches rooms too while painting.
There is a saying that there is always a room for improvement . I guess I took it quite literally which is why you will always find me searching for one while I am in the process of creating something, she quipped. With most of her paintings sold in the three-day exhibition that ends today, what's next?
I have to focus on completing the orders I have got because of this exhibition. It will take me a few weeks to complete those. Haven t thought beyond that. One step at a time.
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