Expressing concern over rapid urbanisation and lack of space for urban dwellers, artist Vimmi Indra has used her imagination and vision for architecture to produce a series of paintings for a solo exhibition that opened at Triveni Gallery here on Saturday.
The artist is worried that because of population explosion and migration, those in the cities are being forced to live in congested spaces.
As these paintings on display at the nine-day exhibition are a continuation of the cityscapes series, a comparison between her present work and the earlier one is inevitable.
“My earlier exhibition at this venue in 2012 was on imagined cityscapes. This time I have produced a fantasy world and I have consciously made an attempt to make abstract paintings. While in the earlier paintings I had deliberately made the art work look subdued, this time I have made the paintings a bit colourful. This time round, I have pointed out that lack of space makes our colonies extremely congested.”
To draw discerning art lover’s attention to this issue, Vimmi has efficaciously used space in her imagined cityspaces.
Inaugurating the exhibition, designer Ritu Kumar said that she was impressed with the artist’s ability to make use of every square inch of the canvas into something creative and sensible.
“Vimmi has tried a different style. She has used natural organic colours in her paintings. As a textile designer I too use natural colours in my garments. Though we are from two different professions, there is a similarity in our approach. And this makes it more interesting and appealing to me. In future, I might collaborate with her.”
A graduate in Fine Arts from Jabalpur University, Vimmi ventured into the art world only after marriage.
“My husband, in the Military Engineering Services, egged me on to pursue my hobby,” said Vimmi.
Seasoned artist Anjolie Ela Menon has mentored this homemaker-turned-professional artist. “Anjolie is my guru and I have assisted her in creating murals like the recent one at Neemrana. For the past five years I have been working with her,” said Vimmi.
Speaking about her, Anjolie Ela Menon said the artist has improved from her previous works and has demonstrated mature handling of the medium.
The exhibition concludes on May 5.
