In Black and White

Artist Aarti Das Chowdhury expresses her perception of life and its many facets through an art exhibition

Even though Vincent Van Gogh is her favourite artist and yellow is her favourite colour, it is surprising that Aarti Das Chowdhury's paintings are in black and white. "I used to enjoy making colourful paintings. Every time I pick up the paint brush I am inspired to think about life and express my thoughts on canvas, but life is not full of colour all the time and sometimes we must express even the black-and-white elements. Recently, I had taken a black-and-white print of one of my paintings on canvas and it was amazing to see the clarity of the fine strokes that I had used. When I took prints of my paintings on black- and-white, I found that they had a new dimension. I wanted to explore this dimension more and decided to showcase a collection of these prints," says Chowdhury, who is all set to exhibit her "Coal Art Series-2" at Bliss Art Gallery from December 8 to 31.

One can stare for hours at a painting that seems to be a pit of never-ending darkness. Aptly titled Meditation, a strange curiosity looms the work, which compels you to take a leap further into the painting and find out what lies within. Another piece of her art, titled Roots Somewhere, is abstract yet symbolic and showcases an entangled mess. The painting portrays Chowdhury's perception of chaos and lack of space in a modern city through various lines and forms that are intertwined and no empty spaces. It also laments the lack of

basic form of arrangement and civic sense in modern urban architecture. "The painting arose out of a disturbed thought that mirrored the city; no outlets, no escape, just bricks put together in cramped spaces," says Chowdhury. The exhibition is the second version of the "Coal Art Series". In the first series, she had exhibited her paintings made from charcoal.

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