Happy hues of Spring

Spring is the season when nature blossoms in all her colourful splendour. Artist and curator Alka Raghuvanshi and artist Manisha Gawade present an art show titled ‘Eternal Spring’ representing a wonderful connect with nature in a very personal way.

The current exhibition features an interesting amalgamation of their creative process. “In this exhibition I am showcasing 10 works from ‘My Magical City’ series, representing the spiritual life and journey wherein spring is the line of resurgence,” shares Alka and adds, “Most of my works are inspired by my travel to numerous cities and the influence of the cityscapes. My visual journey is essentially instinctive and my pre-occupation with light — both within and without — is constant but it has intensified with greater refinement and finesse.”

Talking about the show and the theme, Manisha says, “Spring is a very special season for me. My daughter and I are both spring borns. I have always been mesmerised by the colours of the flowers around me. My works here represent the joy of the spring that can exist deep within us. Sometimes we choose to find it and often we don’t. Some of the colours I have chosen for this exhibition are being used to represent flowers and beautiful fragrances.”

The form and content chosen by the artists is novel as they discover newer paths to present their expressions. Their palette has also undergone a drastic change. Alka says, “I used to use a lot of black in my works earlier. But for this exhibition, I used metallic colours to denote light at the physical and spiritual plane. But it is interesting that my heart and head are reaching out to use colours I have never used before like cobalt and lemon or even a shade of pink. I point this out for colours have a meaning and are always used in a certain context. In this case these colours denote spring which I feel is a state of being and hence eternal.”

Agreeing with her, Manisha adds, “My palette was also filled with black earlier but this time I have used tones of yellow, red and silver in my work. If you have a closer look at our works you will realise that the languages we use on canvas are similar too.”

Both artists have tried to infuse an essence of the cityscape in their works, representing the journey they have taken — both mentally and physically. “One of my works titled ‘Dance of the Fireflies’ is inspired by a firefly’s safari taken in Malaysia. It was a magical night filled with the light emitted by lightning bugs. It symbolises the magic and beauty of life and how we relate to the season of spring within ourself,” shares Alka.

In conclusion, Manisha says, “I am showcasing two cityscape works titled ‘A Tale of Two Cities’, one on old Delhi with its rich monuments and the other on the city that has been my home for last 16 years — Dubai. I celebrate my life with vibrant colours.”