“Running with the bulls,” left, and “Sadhu” (acrylic on canvas) PhotoCourtesy: Anil Advani

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Tuesday, August 18, 2009 12:47 AM GMT+06:00

Print Friendly VersionPublished On: 2009-06-04

Arts & Entertainment

What the eye sees, and the heart speaksUjwala’s solo exhibition at ChitrakTakir Hossain

Ujwala Prabhulikes toobserve hersurrounding,people fromall walks oflife and theirexpressions.Her paintingsrecordindividualworlds,personal joysand woes. Her themes are contemplative, yet simple. Her solo exhibition titled"Chokh-er Dekha, Pran-er Kotha" is now on at Gallery Chitrak.

Ujwala is an Indian painter, who has been quite active in the Dhaka art circuitover the last few years. Her works focus her artistic journey. Her paintingsarticulate her personal experiences, understanding and deep observations of oursociety.

One aspect that is noticeable in her works is that she has not confined herself toa certain theme. Her canvas is truly a reflection of peoples' needs, dreams,despairs and ecstasies.

The exhibition includes Ujwala's figurative paintings, featuring tea vendors,rickshaw pullers, contemplating women, ascetics, gossiping people, boatmen andmore. Her images easily translate a gamut of emotions and moods. Sometimesthe faces (of the subjects) look gloomy and make the viewer consider theirstruggles and complex situations. Eyes of Ujwala's subjects are seemingly thedominant feature. The artist searches for a deeper meaning, using colours toarticulate her signature language.

Figures hold a central place in her artworks, changing the mood according to theirrelationships with other elements. The bold, bright colours, applied with delicatebrushstrokes all over the surface of her canvases, create a realistic image,seemingly in motion.

Ujwala tries to capture diverse moments. She is seemingly more interested inhighlighting the basic lines of the composition than meticulously developing thedetails of her subjects. Thick lines are very noticeable among her sketches andline detailing gives them a distinct look. The artist carefully experiments withthemes, colours and compositions.

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Ujwala's works generally see a predominance of acrylic, oil, charcoal and ink. Herrepertoire has been arranged according to different combinations of light andshade. The paintings project the ambience of urban and semi-urban life. Thecolours involved are red, black, yellow, emerald and azure -- representingvivaciousness of life. Her style of depiction is simple, yet remarkable.

The exhibition ends on June 5.

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