Wandering into ‘the unknown’
ZEHRA NAQVI
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Sujata Mehta’s creations are steeped in mysticism and surrealism.
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Touch of mysticism One of Sujata Mehta’s works.
A wanderer, exploring the world and uncovering its secrets – that’s how Sujata Mehta defines herself. An artist from Delhi, her paintings are steeped in mysticism and surrealism. “There is a subtlety in every bit of the universe, so
mething hidden whose presence can be felt. Nature is replete with it.” That’s mysticism for Mehta, which she portrays using dry pastels on canvas.
Mehta, who did a course in interiors after graduation, has learnt sketching from Shobha Broota whom she considers her mentor. Her paintings, exhibited at the just concluded show in Triveni Art Gallery were titled ‘The Unknown’. “I don’t give titles to individual paintings because I want people to infer their own meanings and give their own titles,” she explains.
A very captivating angle of her creativity is the relief work which she does by cutting shapes from fabric and pasting them on a fabric background, which gives it a three-dimensional look. Pillars, cones, small fans – these are the forms she creates in this particular style. “I find the medium soft and serene, enabling me to explore more,” she enthuses.
Feedback helps
Painting out her thoughts for about 12 years now, Mehta says she has grown with the feedback she has received. Although she worked with an architect for a long time, painting is the only passion that occupies her now. Refusing to call her work a profession, she would rather describe it as a form of meditation. For her, it is, “being centrally focussed and spending time with myself.” Considering nature as her biggest inspiration, Mehta reflects that the biggest struggle is to create a perfect expression of her thoughts on the canvas. She says that unlike many other artists, she is not pre-decided about her work until she actually completes it. Painting, smudging, painting again, that’s the way it works for her.
An admirer of the works of Sohan Qadri Mehta philosophises about her art, referring to it as something mystic.
“The mind notices a thousand things every moment but you are not aware of it. When the canvas comes before you, those things come out slowly through forms and colours…”
And the explorer’s journey continues….
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