CHENNAI: If anyone thought that age is a stumbling block in aiming higher, they should take a leaf or two out of the book of 71-year-old Geetha Sundar. Geetha whose exhibition of paintings is on display at the Ambassador Pallava yet again reiterates that age is just a number for a few people.
As she talks passionately about the toil and pain that went behind putting up her show, she says that she is a born artist. “I belong to the Pothody Tharavadu originally hailing from Kannur in Kerala. What can be more inspiring than the scenic landscapes that I saw growing up every day,” she says.
Indeed, the landscapes seem to have had a long-lasting impact on the colour palette she has conjured magic with. From plasticine to shell embellishments and acrylic, Geetha’s broad range of work displays her versatility and comfort with varying mediums. Painting devotional portraits, the mystical realms of mermaids and the serenity of the English countryside — the artist has both a direct and dreamy approach to art.
However, none of the paintings have been done for the sake of the exhibition. ” I have been drawing from as far back as I can remember. I don’t have a specific timeline — as each of these paintings was done at different point in time. The plasticine landscape is more than a decade old, while the Meera and Krishna portrait is more than 40 years old,” she adds.
There is a glimpse of tradition and culture — in the form of a beautiful Thiyya bride with her tresses adorned with white flowers. “This is how brides in our community look,” she points out the sashaying pallu that joins the tip of the bride’s long hair. After working in hospitality and public relations in the corporate world later on, Geetha eventually found her ultimate calling in art. “I always took up the responsibility to decorate or looked for an opportunity to engage with art and crafts. And I had a microscopic eye to spot and present beauty,” she says with a laugh.
The exhibition is on at the La Galerie D’Expression at Hotel Ambassador Pallava till June 30