Artist Smita Jain exquisitely captures nostalgia on canvas

Artist Smita Jain in her ongoing solo art show in the Capital goes beyond a trip down memory lane to present those moments of a bygone time — etched and captured in her mind – on the canvas in a vibrant and abstract way.

As a textile designer who has been painting for more than 20 years, buildings especially those which are old, grand or even ordinary, have always inspired her allowing her imagination take wind as is evident in the works being shown at the show “Past & Beyond” curated by Aakshat Sinha, at India Habitat Centre’s Visual Art Gallery.

In “Rays of God 1 and 2”, the two works depict similar scenes yet there is a difference. In the second work, there is a structure. Elaborating on it, Jain told India Narrative: “The painting captures the beauty of Ranthambore forest. The beautiful rays of sunlight on golden grass was so mesmerizing that I imagined the pleasure of staying in such a breathtakingly beautiful and serene environment in a house under the trees.”

The artist does a remarkable job of capturing both the urban and rural spaces authentically on the canvas. While “An Evening in Shimla” highlights the panoramic sunset view of the beautiful hill station during winter, “Countryside’ shows the meandering path of a rural area with settlements on either side.

“Both, urban and rural, are beautiful in their own space. The urban space is filled with beautiful structures that trigger my imagination to capture cityscapes, the view of miles and miles of unpolluted crystal clear beauty of rural landscape takes me beyond the realm of reality.”

An observant artist, she also draws inspiration from play of light and shade that takes place throughout the day. Both “Magic Hour” and “A Moment In Time” portray houses and dwellings but at different times of the day. “The former captures the first rays of sun, the latter captures sun in its full glory. The Idea is to showcase that every moment is beautiful as beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder,” remarked Jain.

Being an avid traveler, Jain brings those experiences too to the audience. The ancient city of Banaras or Varanasi has always inspired artists and she is no exception. Her two works “Art of Synchronicity I and II” show the scene in this holy city. Talking about them she revealed to India Narrative: “Rather than being separate paintings, they are 2 parts of a whole and meant to be viewed as a single painting depicting scenes of ghats of Banaras.”

Moving away from structures, Jain is also motivated by nature and its beauty. Seeing the work “Raging Waves” gives the viewer a feeling of standing on a beach with dark clouds on the top and the water in the sea trying to reach out to them. The use of blue and rusty brown colours has lent a terrific effect to the painting.

“As I tend to travel to a lot of places known for their natural beauty, nature as a subject tends to feature in my paintings a lot,” she told India Narrative.

(On view till May 8, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.)