The Heart of the Lotus
The Lotus 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. In these studies, 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. These works present a contemplation on iconography and texture. She contrasts flat plains of colour with minimal brushstrokes to shade the petals. The shading involves rhythmic, slow, deliberate brushstrokes that feel almost meditative in their intensity.
The magisterial formulation and articulation bring in important elements of the ‘physical facts’ of line, contour, and colour. In the quietude of her explorations. In different paintings we can see an expansion and contraction, an unravelling as well as isolation. Whether they are large or small, we see an exploring of associations with colour and with the senses and their connection to the earth, water and the cosmos, and to Indian philosophy and poetry. At once the viewer is drawn into a concern with inner landscapes rather than external ones, and to reflect on the idea of energised space and meditation.” – Uma Nair, Art Critic and Curator.
”In her vistas, Sujata brings alive the Gheranda Samhita, putting “the self in space and space in the self”
