By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
New Delhi : Pune-based artist Madhuri Bhaduri is inspired by the bright shades of nature, which seep into her works in vivid patches of oil paint.
The artist showed her works at the Romain Rolland Gallery at the Allaince Francaise in the capital March 28-31 in a solo exhibition titled “Madhuri Bhaduri – The Theme – In backdrop – On Canvas”. It was presented by Ragini Gallery.
The medium to large format works were mostly in oil – a medium which artists rarely experiment with these days as it takes longer to dry. “But even then I prefer oil,” Bhaduri told IANS while she was here for the exhibition. The artist has been at work for more than two decades now.
Most of the works are abstract. Patches of colour come together on the canvas to convey crystalline and geometric hints of natural contours like mountains, valleys, plains, rivers and plateaus. The floating mysterious shapes – distinctly cubist – blend into each other, forming a homogeneous landscape.
Bhaduri, a graduate of SNDT University, says: “Painting for me is a quest for depth within the organised space of the canvas, a narration of inner experiences through the sharply defined play of texture and the rippling warmth of light and colour.”
Born in 1958 into a family of sporting professionals, Bhaduri spent her early years playing badminton and became a national champion in the game. After graduating in economics from Fergusson College, Bhaduri acquired a postgraduate degree in Arts and Painting from SNDT. She has more than 60 solo shows to her credit, both in India and abroad. She also works with acrylic, stained glass and mixed media.
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Aboriginal Australian art in capital
The Warlukurlangu Artists, a non-profit cooperative of aboriginal painters from Australia, documents a legacy that has been handed down hundreds of generations among the ethnic groups inhabiting the rugged outback.
They showcase the traditional Warlpiri culture, which is central to the community life of Yuendumu, a town in the Northern territory of Australia. It is one of the largest towns in central Australia, located 30 km from Alice Springs, and is home to a large community of aboriginal artists.
Forty-three contemporary aboriginal artists from Warlukurlangu Artists will exhibit 87 paintings at the Palm Court Gallery in the India Habitat Centre in the first-ever display of contemporary Australian aboriginal art April 6-9, titled “Desert Dreamings”.
These Walpiri designs were traditionally painted on the body during ceremonies and on the ground by the Warlukurlangu artists, practitioners of the art.
Established in 1985, this cooperative represents over 400 artists who paint their Jukurrpa, or dreaming stories, using traditional iconographies.
The proceeds from the exhibition will support social and health projects of the community.
Two indigenous artists, Otto Jungarrayi Sims, chairman of Warlukurlangu Artists and his wife, Ormay Nangala Gallagher, will accompany the exhibition to India, a statement said.
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Body as vessel of riches
An exhibition, “Body as Vessel”, curated by art historian Geeti Sen, at the Art Alive Gallery April 4-25 will highlight the body as a vessel which can hold “untold riches including the universe”.
The body, said Sen, possesses several meanings and has taken a central form in various arts. “For some artists, the symbolic and the ritualistic significance of the body is inspired by traditional values. For others, the body has reclaimed its identity, or alternatively the psychic self, deriving from the contemporary values of the individual.”
The show will feature five artists – Anupam Sud, Gogi Saroj Pal, Mithu Sen, Puneet Kaushik and Shambavi Singh.
While Sud’s works will treat the woman as “empowered but vulnerable”, Gogi Saroj Pal will explore the metamorphosis of an individual woman’s body.
Mithu Sen will work on fragments of the body and Puneet Kaushik will paint the psychic states which affect the body. Shambhavi Singh will depict the body as a vessel of energies in a series of five acrylic paintings.
(Madhusree Chatterjee can be contacted at [email protected])