Marathon of Life, an oil on canvas by artist Shashi Tripathi.
Marathon of Life, an oil on canvas by artist Shashi Tripathi.

A confluence of varied art forms

Roongta who specialises in contemporary still life is into the fine arts because she enjoys it.

Three artists- Nivedita Pande, Shashi Tripathi and Deepali Roongta- from diverse backgrounds and working in different streams of arts have come together, thanks to their passion for art, a passion that they nurtured since their childhood.

Their group show, titled Confluence, presently on at Lalit Kala Akademi showcases 21 works, each presenting a different facet of life. Then again, all these works are tied through their emotional content.

For Pande, a qualified and professional architect, the foray into fine arts happened in 1999, after she joined the National Gallery of Modern Art for a course in Art Appreciation.

“It is strange that while I joined a course in architecture because my parents thought that I would be able to do B Arch because I was a good artist, I never delved deeper into fine art,” she says. It was not her fault though for, back in late 1970s, fine arts was not something many looked at as a vocation. So, around 1999, after researching on different art schools and galleries, Pande decided to join Triveni, where she learnt majorly under senior artist Sanjay Roy.

“I wanted to have my own colour palette, my own compositions, hence Triveni, which gives you full freedom as an artist,” she says. Her works on display, in rich colours but earthy tones, are all architectural – they seem a continuous dialogue with changing space, from enclosed spaces to landscapes, seascapes to cityscapes.

“Art and Architecture are part & parcel of my life. One enhances the other. Both give the joy of creation,” says the artist who still works for 3-4 hours every day. “An artist may not necessarily be wanting to convey something to the viewers,” she remarks when asked about the message she wants to give to the viewers, “these have come out of my imagination and viewers are free to draw their inferences”.

Roongta who specialises in contemporary still life is into the fine arts because she enjoys it. Ä post graduate in economics, she entered fine arts in 2007 and has done over 15 shows so far. She has her studio at Triveni where she works for 7-8 hours three days a week.  

Roongta combines realistic and abstract forms to present her imagination, offering an intriguing perspective on how altered objects can create an interdisciplinary stage for idea creation.

Her palette is very varied, but mostly with bright colours that change based on her inspiration and the image that she sees in her mind. Not inspired by any artist in particular, she enjoys the works of all.

“I love doing oil on canvas – the kind of flexibility oil offers no other medium does,” she says.

For Tripathi, the journey into fine arts began as a leisure pursuit in 2012 but soon engulfed her wholly. While she was into anther creative field (fashion designing), she always felt a vacuum and a sense of unfulfilled aspiration and this made her explore newer avenues.

“The search ended with fine arts, and I enrolled into Triveni for learning art,” she says.

Her works, primarily figurative, vividly convey human emotions using body parts in meaningful compositions, mostly in basic primary colours. “These are the result of my own experiences based on meeting people and travelling,” she says.

Till: November 19, 11.00am to 8.00pm
At: Gallery 3, Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi.

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