Reviews / Interviews

Impressions of the Artist as the Observer

Interview published in Hindustan Times Live, Jaipur edition, on December 12, 2001

The searching eyes of the artist find a refreshing novelty in the most commonplace of all surroundings. Rekha Bhatnagar has done just that and more. In an exhibition of paintings at the Srishti Art Gallery, Rajputana Sheraton, the artist manages to infuse life in the most inanimate of structures – be they monuments, temples or simply roads. In a conversation with Siddhartha S Bose she talks about her love for nature and her growing interest in charcoal drawing. Excerpts from the interview:

Your works have a strong rustic flavour. Why?

I have always been inclined towards villages as there is more of natural beauty over there. The Villages have an undeniable lyrical quality, which is uncommon in the city. As far as structures are concerned, Rajasthan is full of monuments and buildings. Moreover, I travel a lot and as such I happen to notice structures that touch my heart, which take shape on my canvas.

Some of your works are too Impressionistic?

Those paintings date back to my formative years. In those days I sought inspiration from the works of Paul Klee and Henri Matisse and hence the resemblance. Though personally I would not prefer to make those paintings again as I have acquired my own style now.

You maintain that P.N. Choyal has inspired you. But your work does not stress on human figures, which is synonymous with Choyal’s paintings?

P.N. Choyal did inspire me with his works, particularly with his use of watercolours, and even today my hands flow in his style. Of late, I have been more inclined towards the abstract and my experiments with oil pastels and charcoal have given me an altogether new direction, which tends to deviate from Choyal’s style.

Do Jaipur youth have any inclination towards art?

Jaipur has to go a long way. Those who are interested in this field are discouraged due to lack of motivation. Parents and teachers are equally responsible for this. Parents here do not want to send their children out, particularly the girls, to study the subject. I have seen meritorious students being denied a chance due to this attitude. Also, the involvement of the teachers with their students is less here.

Which medium are you most comfortable with?

I love working in oil pastels as there is so much scope for experimentation. My interest in charcoal has increased with the response I received in this first exhibition and I intend to devote more time to it, though I would like to discontinue with watercolours for some time in future.

A Few Reflections on Memories 1–12

By Peter Emberley

This is a haunting series of drawings which evokes the exquisite thirst for creative expression — contained by social forms, thus thwarting its realization. Rekha captures with touching poignancy the soul’s song of transcendence, and with equal pathos its doom amidst responsibilities, burdens and cares. Note the wan, willowy figures, a world of restrictive boxes; the absence of a consoling cosmos or a stable ground. An observer might despair of the human condition, fearful that there may be no redemptive hope for a human’s highest aspirations.

But.. this interpretation is woefully precipitous: Rekha has also evoked the indefatigable persistence of the vital spirit, which no social form can successfully repress. “We have art” Nietzsche says “So that we do not perish of truth”; and so too Rekha reminds us, even in the midst of society’s terrible failure to speak of wholeness, its yawning silence about humankind’s origin and destiny, that wherever the soul sings, there will be new beginnings and love.

Written by late Professor Peter Emberley on December 08, 2001, on the occasion of Rekha’s solo show inauguration in Jaipur. Peter Emberley was a renowned scholar of political science at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, and an esteemed family friend.