Four artists draw various shades of rural life. Curator Savita Agrawal chatted with Darpan Mago on how the countryside offers the best of nature to creative minds
In a colourful artwork, four women are sitting under a dense and shady tree, while breastfeeding their newborns. The colour temperature appears warm as brush strokes capture the intricacies of motherhood. “I have depicted the lives of women who have just become mothers. They carry out their daily jobs at fields and then take time out to nurse their newborns. All this happens with a seamless balance,” says RC Bhawsar from Ujjain, who is participating in a group show at the Shree Yash Art Gallery, India Habitat Center. The images capture the essence of rural India.
Another painting by Rohini Sethi conveys village life with a reflection of her own perception towards it. It shows a few women sitting together and one of them is combing the other’s hair. As compared to city, unity and bonding among villagers are stronger. The painting also has a child who seems to be behind his mother, playfully holding her shoulders. These people are portrayed as thin, dark bodies sans expressions.
Curator Savita Agrawal chose the theme as she was always intrigued by villages. “Village people are usually full of their own thought processes and often end up finding happiness in little things they do. Work satisfaction in villages is generally achieved from the daily chores, fetching water from the wells, working in agricultural fields or by celebrating small festivals. Village lives are usually restricted to small jobs and these paintings seize the smallest of human impulses in a very fascinating manner. A villager is like a wrestler confined in a ring, the one who only focuses on exerting and fighting his way up,” she says.
Works by SD Shrotriya presents the landscapes with a hint to painter’s mood. The artist is fascinated by scenic beauty with a harmonious colour division. This is a painting on sheet, showing the gigantic and snow-capped Himalayan mountain ranges. The shades of white, blue and green predominantly form the subject of this painting. Always bewitched to paint the beauty of nature, Shrotriya, who has been painting for more than 50 years says, “I was always touched by the vastness of nature. Infinity in creation attracts me and I always make sincere attempts to bring out the essence of the scenery . I want peace and joy in my life and that is what I try to reproduce in my paintings.” This landscape painting is breathtaking and one can only end up appreciating the picturesque symmetry created by the artist.