Rashmi Khurana decided to do abstracts as she wanted to break free from structures, forms and boundaries. She shared details with Shrabasti Mallik
There are many shades of black in a painting with a trail of pink, a bout of yellow (which appears brown over the black background) and patches of white. The striking factor about the abstract painting is that no colour stands out individually, they blend well with each other. “Sometimes in life we go through dark phases but even they have rays of hope. That is what I felt when I painted this,” said artist Rashmi Khurana. Three oil paintings, 16 acrylic paintings and 18 small paper works are on display at an exhibition titled My Experiences with Truth at Niv Art Centre.
This is for the first time that Rashmi has tried her hands at abstracts, which she stumbled upon by accident. She said, “I earlier used to paint landscapes and occasionally did sketches. I follow this rule of sitting silently, which many would call meditating. For me it is the time when I try and understand myself and find a reason for everything that is happening around me. It was during one of these silent sessions that I started doodling with a few colours and the abstract piece that came out was interesting. It prompted me to explore this genre and I have spent the entire year painting it.” This is one of the reasons why she has named it My Experiences with Truth.
The exhibition, she said, is a deeply layered series and can stand as a metaphor to space and explorations. In them one can see exploration of moments that are very violent, tender yet completely innocent.
The absence of any definite form in abstract art is what attracted Rashmi. She shared, “Abstract art gives an artist freedom from shapes and forms — circles, squares and lines. That intrigued me and I imagined a world without any form. I have taken the liberty to convey whatever I feel and think.”
The artist believes in seeing and sensing the objects that she paints rather than simply reproducing them. She said, “Most of my paintings are impressions of my observations.” Whatever she sees around her — daily activities, world events or simply her emotions — have found their way in her canvas.
Her moods and expressions have heavily influenced her art works, too. That is why visitors will come across a painting with bright neon colours mixed with shades of blue, black, yellow and white.
Another painting with various shades of pink and bold purple and blue depicts something grim. She explained, “I choose my colours according to the way I feel. The pink is very deceptive; it will lure you with its softness. If you take a closer look, you will realise that the pink is almost a layer and stormy, forceful, deeply personal narratives are breaking out of it. It destroys the soft aesthetics of pink, bringing forth emotions and fantasies that carry the starkness of blues and blacks.”
As an artist, Rashmi is fond of pastel shades more than bold and bright colours. She prefers mixing a few colours to create a new shade. “There is no sharpness in the colours that I have used because I have combined five to six colours to bring out a pastel tone,” she said.
None of the paintings on display is titled and Rashmi informed that it was a conscious decision. She feels that giving her paintings a name would bind it to the way she thinks. “I wanted people to associate with it the way they think and not the way I had painted it,” she said.