Upasana Asrani's new collection of paintings, Lost & Found, tells a compelling story of loss, spirituality, and rediscovery. “Lost & Found is a personal narrative, a dialogue depicting a journey through darkness and despair to a place of love and light,” says the artist, based in Chennai.
“These pieces of art are a reflection of that journey. From the various tones of dark blacks emerge the vibrant hues of reds and oranges. Much of the despair is dispelled by the realisation that what was once lost still exists... through the bonds of love.” The act of painting presented a definite cathartic effect, she admits, explaining how “The textures, the depth, the variations are interwoven into the narrative.”
The works are a tribute to her father, whom she lost recently, explains Upasana. “The sense of loss shook the very core of my being, only to reveal out connection that can never be severed,” she says. “In a very real sense, I found what I believe I had lost.”
Lessons of life
Upasana was intuitively drawn to art from childhood, and as a self-taught artist, her works reflect her personal experiences. As a multi-talented artist and entrepreneur, Upasana’s artistic eye and business acumen led her to establish the fashion company Studio Saks, in 1995, along with her sister. Armed with a double degree in Psychology and Literature from Sophia College, Mumbai, Upasana is also a fashion and travel journalist.
Lost & Found, her debut solo show, brings to the fore her deeper, inner motivations — translated in a range of vibrant colours. Her canvases convey a sense of progression in the titles: “Bliss”, “Signs”, “Dialogue”, “Surrender”, “Lessons of Life”, “State of Love I & II”, “Looking back”, “Blessed I & II”, “Seance I & II”, “Some Kind of Magic I & II”, and “Journey I & II”.
Sadness and joy
“There is no greater human sadness than loss,” offers the writer Charu Suri in a note about the show. “Grief and loss, humanity’s powerful emotions, can break a soul or uplift it,” she writes. Upasana’s paintings, notes Charu, “mingle both the sadness that came with the loss of her father, as well as the joy that comes with the acceptance of life’s eventualities”.
Charu adds, “The pictorial narratives are powerful in their abstract voice.” The painting “Bliss” (acrylic on canvas), for instance, with warm vermillion tones, “takes the viewer on a journey of passion”, she
says. “In one second you feel both the energy of happiness and the warmth of being completely human.” In a nutshell, that’s the power of Upasana’s art.
Consul General of Germany Achim Fabig and Didem Atahan-Fabig will inaugurate Lost & Found at The Folly, Amethyst. On show January 7 & 8,10 am-7 pm. A percentage of the proceeds will be donated to the International Foundation for Crime Prevention and Victim Care.