Nature comes to life on textile in art show

The infinite character of mother nature were brought to life on textile by two city-based artists showcasing their works in a recent exhibition.

"Ahirnis: An Exhibition of Landscapes and Textile Art" that brought to the fore facets of nature that otherwise go unnoticed, featured works by Harmandeep Keerti and Shraddha Bansal.

"'Ahirnis' captured my attention as a curator, for it lent a unique opportunity for me to juxtapose not just contrasting styles and media, but also sensibilities of the two artists," curator Aakshat Sinha said.

While Keerti's landscapes captured the mood, ambience and flow of the moment of his plein air paintings, Bansal stitched together emotions of sublime pleasure with trees, birds and compositions inviting viewers into a sense of peaceful bliss.

Bansal's works in dark pastel hues featuring embroidered lines to create different elements of nature on canvas, were an outcome of her years of experience as a textile designer.

Sparrows were a recurring subject in her works to remind viewers of what is "lost".

"My works are about lines... lines which I see everywhere in different manner. In this exhibition, sparrows, which are not seen in Delhi anymore, were in my mind. I miss their movement and their innocence, and capture that into my paintings forever," she said.

According to the curator, Keerti's works are "almost realistic but done on abstract realism".

A self-taught artist, colourist and a self-researcher, Keerti paints the "sound of silence" by lending multiple layers to his work.

"I don't paint objects in the landscapes, I paint the air, the light, and the feelings. The sound of silence of the evening light and the morning glow," he said.

The show at Arpana Fine Arts gallery here, which came to a close on June 13, was organised as part of a 24-day marathon of events interspersed with over 35 events ranging from talks to workshops and performances.