City based artist Subrata Mete has captured the despair of mothers who lose their children to violence while his wife Amrita Ghosh has drawn inspiration from nature to explore daily life in their paintings that are being showcased at an exhibition here.
Mete has drawn inspiration from Italian artist Michelangelo's iconic sculpture 'Pieta' and painted two artworks - one showcasing Jesus' crucifixation and another showcasing a group of women grieving over the loss of their children.
"Today terror is everywhere. I have tried to show how mothers lose their sons in such incidents. Like the recent Dhaka blast or the unrest in Kashmir which left so many innocent people dead. Many of them would have been sons to their mothers," the artist says.
"Our World - the Inner and the Outer", underway at India Habitat Centre here, has on display works by Mete and Ghosh, who are inspired by manifestations of everyday life.
Both artists have assimilated their interpretations of the surroundings and articulated them on the canvas in bright hues of green, yellow and crimson.
Other works by Mete exhibited at the 5-day long show depict scenes from the mundane village life in contrast to the hustle-bustle of the metro cities.
Ghosh's 'She and her flower vases' is a series of paintings inspired by nature where a woman looks at small patches of cloud yearning for rain to nurture the flowers in her vases.
"The works are a reflection of what I am thinking in association with what is happening around. It is how I try to transform a certain phenomenon by taking inspiration from my inner world," she says.
Ghosh's fascination with the poetry of English Romantic poet William Wordsworth and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, comes alive in several of her works where she portrays the woman's identity and her value in the contemporary world.
Her painting "She is the sailor" emphasises the importance
of a house wife in a modern family - one who is ready to face all challenges for her loved ones unconditionally.
Ghosh is also influenced by modernist painter Francis Newton Souza's 'Words and Lines' series from where she uses the 'art of line' as a powerful expression in her paintings.
"The line is the strength of my work, which I use to depict a form. It represents the flow of life, the speed the movement and certain variations in life. At some point, it is broken, somewhere it is smooth and lively," she says.
According to the artists, it is important for the audience to interact with artists rather "than seeing pictures online."
"I think people should have more interest to appreciate art. It is completely different when you look at the labour and actual work of the artist rather than seeing pictures or images online. If people come around and interact with the artist it is the best thing," Ghosh says.
The show is set to continue till September 9.
