Odyssey in Abstraction: Rupa Bheda Comes to a Close

NEW DELHI:
Rupa Bheda, a solo exhibition of paintings by Neerja Chandna Peters, came to a close with an evening of talk by curator Uma Nair amid a visit of 20 students from the Delhi College of Art in the city.

“The life of an exhibition lives in the minds of those who visit the show. I consider young students as vessels of precious intellect because they are cartographers of memory,” said Nair, welcoming the students at Bikaner House towards the conclusion of the February 20-25 show of the medical doctor-turned-artist’s 80 recent abstractionist works noted for their symbolic value steeped in mathematical precision.

A copy of Rupa Bheda catalogue was gifted to the students for their library by artist Neerja Peters for their college library.

The Tuesday evening at Bikaner House saw an articulation of abstract practices as well as looking at its practice as an inner odyssey filled with contemplative conversations born of solitude.The students took a look at the design display and dynamics of the show which had walls of islands of thoughts and compositional character. Scholar-critic and art historian Nair, quoting 20th-century Latvian-American painter Mark Rothko, said: “Silence is so accurate.”

The curator also brought in the essence and eternal qualities of bhakti poets Kabir and Tulsidas to bring the beauty of literature feeding off avenues for artistic inspiration. The evening also saw a focus on the A3-size posters that were framed with texts and designed by the veteran Mukesh Kumar Mishra who designed the catalogue as well as all design material.

Uma Nair had last week delivered a curatorial talk at late Sayed Haider Raza’s exhibition Antima in the national capital.