Verdant hills of Dooars and Darjeeling, lush tea gardens of Assam and mountains of Sikkim form an integral part of painter Arunima Chowdhury’s growing up years. And her latest exhibition, Nature As I See, vividly reflects her fondness for her muse that grew intense with each passing day.
Chowdhury, the artist of the month at Kolkata Centre For Creativity, defines nature as her mother and says, “I have grown up amidst nature in North Bengal and Assam. Nature to me is nothing but my mother. Also, I learnt gardening during my childhood and that brought me closer to the different flora and fauna around us in the hills.”
The exposition of ten paintings are a mix of abstract and concrete forms and you will find artwork with sunflowers over a silhouette of a woman, a childbearing mother and field of corn in earthy strokes. The exhibit also includes paintings on pressing theme like the exodus of migrant workers. One of the striking factors about the alumni of Indian Art College, Kolkata and protege of renowned painter Bikash Bhattacharya is that she works with natural colours and acid-free handmade paper. Informing about the medium that suits her temperament best, Chowdhury offers, “When I started working on herbal colours it was an exploration for me. Initially, there were only two colours - Haritaki and Myrobalan, and then later I found new colours like deep black, blue and red from vegetables and flowers and more, with trial and error and that was also a learning experience.”
In the industry for the last four decades, Chowdhury is not new to the digital medium, but she feels that the traditional method of a physical exhibition is best suited for her works. She stresses, “Herbal colours have a different appeal and for that one has to see it in real. You will instantly feel attached to it and it will convey to you in a known language and build a relationship. The scope of interpretation for the art connoisseurs is more in a physical event.”
A firm believer of Descartes’ philosophy, ‘I think therefore I am’ the sexagenarian has a few topics in mind influenced by everyday incidents and before she signing off she states, “I want to make a bridge between past and future standing on the present.”