Renuka Sondhi Gulati made her place among the top six artists of the world
During the New York Art competition, Inspiration From Isolation, which was organised recently, artist Renuka Sondhi Gulati, the only Indian-origin female, made her place among the top six artists of the world. Renuka said that she will always remain grateful for the support of people. “I have lived my life near forests. I understand the value of nature. The Living Ark series is all about nature reclaiming its space. The series is an incisive and reflective exploration of the relationship between human beings and the environment,” added she.
Initially, she competed and won the daily contest, then the bi-weekly contest and then she came in the top six of the competition and was awarded a one year display of her works at Agora Art gallery at Chelsea, New York. During the year, thousands of art lovers and art collectors will be able to see her paintings, sculptors and prints artworks. The 16 artworks selected for display for one year are The Living Ark ( four works), The Graceful Stripes (two works), Save me Save the World, In My Dreams, The Power Play, Intimacy, Search for Eternity and Illusions at Rest.
She has been keenly examining the links between man’s exploitative treatment of nature and the resulting effect of this onslaught. The series featuring a log of wood takes on the Biblical story of Noah’s Ark to reflect on the world as it stands today, especially in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The series also brings to fore the question of ownership of space on earth. The images of animals making their way into urban spaces and reclaiming their freedom of movement, during the lockdown across the world, resonate with the resplendent wildlife on the different arks of life in the paintings. The cradle of mother nature that is present for all living forms had been usurped by civilisation and the spread of human settlements. In her paintings, Renuka makes us reflect hard on the outcome of our actions that had restricted animals to the sanctuaries or the zoo.
One of the paintings in the series sees the ark of life taking prominence as it occupies the centre of the canvas with fewer figures, but the perched panther ready to sprint, the innocent deer, and a girl with her back turned ready to step onto the life log. The artist peeping on the suspended log watches the girl begin her ascent. However, the most prominent object on the Ark is the green heart, literally with its aorta and vena cava, spelling the obvious that nature is the heart of the earth.
