Madhuri Bhaduri feels that the top of the house is most important as it reveals a lot about its inhabitants. By Shrabasti Mallik
Rooftops are unlikely subjects for an art piece but according to artist Madhuri Bhaduri, rooftops are the only aspect of a home that speak volumes about the place, family and adjoining landscape. So fascinated is the artist with rooftops that she has painted an entire collection titled Rooftop series. In her solo exhibition she will be displaying paintings from this series along with her other artworks from two other collection — Reflections andlandscape.
The artworks might be abstract but one can easily decipher the subject from the colours. This is a philosophy that the Pune-based artist likes to follow. While different shades of blue characterises the Reflections series, the vibrant hues of orange, yellow and green define the paintings in the landscape series at the exhibition at Gallery Five in lado Sarai.
She believes that the most important element of a painting is the proportion of light. Everything else — even colour — is secondary. She said, “light can be bright, harsh and incandescent. It can be dappled, shaded and shadowy; it can be alluring and seductive, mischievous and playful. Its relationship with colour is almost transient. On the surface, they might appear joyful but a closer look discloses hints of poignancy and destiny.” She uses various proportions of light in her paintings either to highlight a particular aspect to simply depict the mood.
There are numerous artists who derive their inspiration from nature and Madhuri is no different. What sets her apart is her observation of the minute details of everything that she sees around. Be it a fish bowl, a sunset or something as ordinary as a rooftop. She said, “When you see something, you have to like it and it should interest you. It is only when something that I have seen stays with me for a long time that I form it a part of my canvas.” The artist is also an ardent traveller who picks up ideas from the places she visits.
The Reflections series captures the myriad textures, reflections and colours of various water surfaces — pond, stream, a puddle or the sea. Through the paintings she discovers the world of possibilities inherent in water which most people cannot see. She said, “I went to Kashmir before the floods and the Dal lake fascinated me. After the floods, I realised how destructive water can be.” The collection is her ode to water as a universal symbol of change.
Her paintings are simple and she does not believe in imparting some message through them. “life is simple,” she said and added that humans make life more complicated. “The simplest joy in life is to see something and feel good. I see no point in making a simple work complicated by adding a meaning to it,” she added.
Every colour has its own pattern and depicts a different mood. Therefore, the artist is careful to not be too loud or too mellow and tries to strike a balance. All her works on display are oil on canvas and she said, “You need to have a sense of equilibrium. Having one in life is important, too.” Painting and playing with colours is therapeutic for her. The exhibition continues till February 28.