Artist Ritu Chopra’s latest collection Wrap n Weft is inspired by the poetry of Sufi mystic Sant Kabirdas. Her works render the words of Kabirdas in vivid colours
Ritu Chopra connects with nature in a passionate way. Trekking her way through tough terrain, travelling in the most diverse topography, up the mountains, under the sea, as if it’s her mission to explore the Universe at one go! She has been everywhere geographically possible. After conquering the external, she has started her journey inwards. That quest is visible in her peripheral expression, in her art.
She has done eight solo and 45 group exhibitions in India and abroad. She has worked on different subjects and medium. Her style of paintings in the past remained mostly figurative, but now she has ventured into the world of abstraction.
What or who has been your inspirationIJ
Kabir’s poetry and verses are my inspiration. They have lead me to create this series of paintings titled Warp n Weft In 2010,I did my solo show Kahe Kabir with paintings depicted in a figurative style inspired by his couplets and poems. Thereafter I did many exhibitions on different subjects but Kabir’s work was still calling out to me. So I started studying Kabir and it led me to paint his words in colours. I had no idea about how to start and what to paint. All I knew was Kabir’s verses and poems and my form of expressing his work in abstract style. Besides, I have also have procured inspiration from lots of subjects to create my paintings. In 2012, I painted my experiences during trekking in the mountains, recollecting the spirituality embedded within the Himalayas, titled Abode of the Gods. That collection of my work was based on my memories from wandering amidst the high passes and meadows and it illustrated my perception and experiences.
A trip to the monasteries of ladakh moved me to a new tangent. The spiritual art of the mandalas and the depiction of the goddess Tara Devi inspired me to bring out the new experiences on to the canvas. And that lead me to create a series on the Divine Goddesses which was called Ya Devi. This exhibition was sponsored by ICCR at Delhi in 2014.
In the year 2011, inspired by my myriad of thoughts and feelings, I ventured into experimenting with storytelling in a narrative form using Radha, Krishna and Krishna’s flute as the protagonists. I used unspoken overtures of their body language and purposefully restrained from depicting any facial expressions. I use of vibrant colors in displaying the chemistry between the two. This series was called The Flute.
Spirals have been a source of inspiration for me numerous times. The very shape of it is quite intriguing for me. In 2008 I created a series on spirals. They are a recurring feature in my paintings.
Do you follow any particular style in your paintingsIJ
I like to experiment with my subjects as much as I experiment with my style of painting. As an artist I am like an innocent child who to opens her heart to newer experiences and I try to imbibe the vastness of the universe within myself. As art critic Renu has aptly observed, “The beauty in Ritu Chopra’s art is that her physical experiences find resonance in her paintings. She does not adhere to technique and keeps moving to novel forms that appeal to her. With every series that she paints, she introduces the freshness of a raw artist.”
Is there any particular story that you tried to depict through your collectionIJ
Yes, through Warp n Weft I am asking the viewer to appreciate the efforts taken by the Divine weaver to subtly create a beautiful tapestry that we all wear over our souls. As they say, for everything there is a time and a place destined. As a mother, my inspiration for this new series came when I saw a new born baby with a thin white layer of skin peeling off which in Hindi is called Jhilli. This is where the verses of Kabir — Jhini Jhini Bini Chaderiya, kahe ka taana, Kahr ki Bharni, kaun taar se bini chaderiya... helped me to visualize what I had been searching for the last three years and that's what lead to the series Warp n Weft.
How much time did you take to complete itIJ
To conceptualise it took me one to two years but to make all the paintings for the series Warp n weft, it took me almost a year.
What is your Upcoming project on which you are currently working onIJ
I have just finished creating paintings for Warp n weft. I am going for paragliding immediately after the exhibition and trekking in the month of May. I am also a PADI certified diver. So my search for inspiration will be amidst the three realms — in Air, in the Himalayas and under the Sea. I'm certain that inspiration for my next series will be triggered then.