Mumbai-based artist Usha Phenany Pathak’s interest in portraiture can be credited to her father and artist Shankar Phenany, who is known for using the scraperboard technique in his works. “I got my first exposure to art watching my father as he would work on a board of plaster of Paris with Pelikan waterproof black ink.
The ink was spread and once it dried, he would use a very sharp scraper to remove the ink and make vertical and horizontal lines to acquire a dot,” she reminisces. Fascinated by how those small dots could be transformed to resemble different faces, Pathak decided to incorporate this technique into her portraits. Her approach, however, was different. Pathak focuses on letting her creativity flow; she renders splashes of hues on a canvas, unaccompanied by predetermined sketches.
Delhiites can witness Pathak’s mastery of this technique in a series of abstract paintings and portraits on canvas showcased at her current exhibition—it was unveiled on Saturday and is on view till March 18 at Treasure Art Gallery, Defence Colony. Titled ‘Gold Mine,’ this exhibition is a repository of the artist’s life experiences. “Gold Mine is my memories, my life gone by that I am now looking back on,” Pathak shares. The artist highlights that her skills edged up a notch during her sojourn in the US in the early 1990s.
A former graduate of Parsons School of Design—she studied Computer Graphics here—as well as the Sculpture Center, where she learnt sculpture design, Pathak recounts the fast-paced life that she was a part of in New York. “This really set me up to explore my creativity as an artist. I began working with abstracts and sculptures, and found that I could express my identity as well through these mediums. However, I never lost touch with my roots; my Indianness prevailed through my artwork,” Pathak mentions.
Emotions in vivid hues
The many swirls and hurried brushstrokes, dripping colours, and vibrant splashes will not escape your notice when you view Pathak’s portraits. The artist mentions that these are “a kind of wrestling with an inner energy to finally reach a sense of calm…” Most of her works exhibited here use shades of red and brown, conveying a sense of vitality. Her artworks are often imbued with every emotion of the sitter, creating a gripping visual narrative.
Through this exhibition, Pathak juxtaposes real-life portraits with a certain abstraction, thus prompting us to reflect on the various art techniques she has honed over the years. However, instead of capturing her sitter only realistically, Pathak also adds an abstract expressionist layer to her portraits. “My main vehicle for conveying the likeness of the sitter is the face, and I felt that by working in a large format with abstract elements of colour, line, and free-flowing forms, I am able to convey the emotions that the person, whose portrait I am creating, expresses,” the 67-year-old artist explains.
‘Gold Mine’ is an accumulation of Pathak’s experiences as an artist. At the same time, it is a reflection of the society that we are part of. “People come with their own complexities. It is my task as a painter to capture that. It could be a sense of wisdom, an inner energy that expresses itself, sometimes it is a bit of inner angst, sometimes celebration… these are shades of humanity,” she concludes.
A philanthropist at heart, Pathak has been making quick sketches of the patients at Mumbai’s Tata Memorial Hospital. These are compiled into small books, which are for sale. Proceeds from these go to aid treatment of cancer patients.