Delhi-based artist Kanchan Chander is known for her versatility. She has consistently, and indeed successfully, shown an impressive diversity in her art practice that ranges from large-scale paintings replete with spiritual, feminine forms to intricate, miniature style works in mixed media. And while she has also dabbled in drawings, etchings and lithographs in her early years as a printmaker, it’s her mixed media work — using objects like buttons, old coins and notes, sequins, swarovski, laces, appliqués, bindis, stickers, nuts and bolts — on canvas and paper that has now become synonymous with her oeuvre.
Kanchan says that she is drawn to mixed media because of its aesthetic diversity. One of the most exciting series she has done in this medium titled, Hollywood-Bollywood, depicts some of the most popular film icons from Hindi cinema and also of Hollywood. Using faces of some popular heroines — Madhubala, Waheeda Rehman, Meena Kumari, Madhuri Dixit, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor — Kanchan creates a seamless relationship between glamour, strength and success. She says, “Cinema has played a vital role in my life. I have chosen to depict those icons who have influenced my life.”
Another icon who has influenced Kanchan is Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and it is no wonder that one of Kanchan’s best-known series of mixed media work is titled Frida & Me. She says, “Frida has been a part of my works for many years. I have admired her strength not only as a woman but also as a strong and bold artist. I relate to her and hence this series is very close to my heart.”
For Kanchan, much of her art is extrapolated from her lived experience. The ebb and flow of life, its topsy-turvy routes, happy and sad moments, nothing passes unmarked for the artist. Loss of a brother in her early years as an artist led to monochromatic prints which were dark and brooding. On receiving a scholarship in 1984, Kanchan left for France to study at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. On returning, she took up a teaching job at the College of Art. Then later, with a child to look after, she gradually transited from the more time-taking woodcuts to paintings.
When Kanchan painted her early full-bodied watercolours based on the ancient and medieval sculptural traditions of India, there was a clear indication of a strong focus on the feminine body. Her recent paintings are dramatically different and are based on mythology. One of them called Gajagamini, depicts the artist riding an elephant in a reference to freedom of spirit. “These are works which reflect the peace I feel now after having led a roller-coaster life. The stance in these works is meditative, the colours are those that brighten up my life as well,” she says.
(Poonam Goel is a freelance journalist who contributes articles on visual arts for unboxedwriters.com)