The Stainless Gallery space was filled with the excited chatter of people on the opening day of the ‘Pulse—Vibration of Life’, an exhibition curated by visual artist Aarti Uppal Singla, who founded The Art Exchange Project (TAEP). Inaugurated by Gurpreet Singh and Sanchita, founding partners of Aakar Design Consultants, this exhibition—it commenced on Saturday and will continue till March 10—has a display of select works by 16 artists.
Delving into the theme of this exhibition, Singla shared that artists are attuned to the pulse of things around them. “Artists are affected by the things that surround them. They process these things, and reproduce art in a different way than how normal people view things,” she added.
Art as a reaction
Most artists react to varied experiences and circumstances—some draw inspiration from the co-existence of nature and concrete jungles, while others take a look at divinity and spirituality. ‘Pulse—Vibration of Life’ brings out the creator’s perceptions of moments that matter to them the most. These observations are then explored through different mediums such as photography, ceramic art, fabric work, canvas painting and digital art.
Hanging on one of the walls of the Gallery is a watercolour flower painting on the pages of Jeffrey Archer’s A Twist in the Tale. Aptly titled ‘Moments of Happiness’, artist Winnie Singh mentioned that the technique she has used allows her to capture joyful moments. “When we were young and someone would give us a flower, we would press it between pages of a book. It reminded us of happiness,” she added. The three-month-long process by Singh includes her adding texture to the pages of the book through collages, and later painting the flower using watercolour and ink.
Adjacent to Singh’s works are frames by Devangi Sidharth featuring exquisite fabric and gold work on ceramic plates. Sidharth, who is not new to working with ceramic, fabric, and gold paint, decided to merge the three mediums for this particular exhibition. The idea, she shared, was to give the plates an antique feel, with the thought of merging ideas including the past and mythology. Rashmi Rai’s photography also catches the eye, as the artist captures motion with ease. Central to her art is everyday objects such as eggs, glass, water, etc. She shared, “I have always been inspired by the old Dutch masters’ works of still-life paintings. They used a lot of eggs, which symbolises continuity, growth, and positivity.” For Rai, everyday objects and levitation in art are ways for her to express the triumph of the mind.
Old Rajinder Nagar resident Keerthi Battu (21), who was at the exhibition on day one, mentioned that Divyam Singh’s oil painting of the sun—a piece that stands out because of the artist’s use of vivid hues—was her favourite work. Battu shared that it was very vibrant and would catch anyone’s eye, urging the viewer to look into the details.
CHECK IT OUT
WHAT: ‘Pulse- Vibration of Life’
When: Till March 10, 11:00 am to 7:00 pm
Where: The Stainless Gallery, Mira Corporate Suites, New Delhi