Sujata Dere’s 'Earth Song' is an artistic odyssey of sacred landscapes and mystic imagery

Renowned artist Sujata Dere is set to unveil her latest collection, Earth Song, at the Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre, showcasing her masterful exploration of the natural world through a dynamic series of paintings. This exhibition will feature Dere's captivating Equus series, evocative lotus studies, and an intricate forest series, each offering a unique, immersive experience.

With over 30 years of artistic practice, Dere’s work has evolved from her early pointillist style to a more introspective journey into sacred landscapes. Earth Song embodies this transition, focusing on the spiritual essence of the horse, the lotus, and the forest—symbols of energy, purity, and nature’s rhythmic heartbeat. The works in this collection draw the viewer into a meditative space, echoing the silent, yet profound, rhythms of the earth.

“Earth Song is an artist’s odyssey that echoes a meditative practice that transcends numerous travels," as she likes to describe it.

Dere's love for horses stems from being a rider in her early years. She adds: “In some of my recent works, I have digitally printed a map on the canvas and painted the horse over this to depict the role of the horse in history, connecting people and cultures across the world. I have added glaze to the pigment to create a shine-through effect illuminating the horses, highlighting their very positive aura and energetic field.

“I love to use earth colours while painting horses. I play with thick and thin lines, using a brush in a gestural way, sometimes dipping my fingers in paint and working directly on the surface building up the energy of the horse. I seldom erase,” she adds.

In her second series, Sujata meditates on the lotus flower which has ancient as well as sacred associations within the art of India. Blooming in swamps, it is often associated with purity, perfection, resurrection as well as spiritual growth. Sujata plays with different compositions that adapt to shifts in scale as well as minimalist isolation of the lotus floating within a field of intense blue strokes in the expansive realm of Prakriti. Her understanding of materials and mediums creates multiple conversations.

“I paint on cold-pressed archival paper and on canvas. I like to build an atmosphere with several layers of acrylic paint. I loosely paint in the shapes of leaves and flowers with any neutral colour. Then, I do a few washes with thin layers of paint, letting them drip and flow into each other. I also add some lines with aquarelle pencils and splatter water to get spontaneous patterns. This slowly builds up volume and form. The interplay of bold brush strokes and loose ones, as well as the use of a palette knife, add energy and flow. Finally, the dance of light and shadow plays an important part in telling the story.”

The forest series that Dere creates is born of her love for nature and for walking. Her capacity to capture the botanical brilliance of geophysical beauty is an inherent gene of devotion to the land. This series of smaller works are filled with vegetal delights in texture, tone, and tenor. “These are spontaneous works, with which I strive to capture the essence of the forest’s mystique.”

Exhibition details:

Preview: November 28, at 6 pm

When: November 28-30, 11 am to 7 pm

Where: The Visual Arts Gallery, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi

Note: The exhibition will continue at the artist’s studio at Gurgaon, from December 1 – 15.