Celebrating the essence of being a woman

Rajkumari Sharma Tankha

Perspective on Paper that begins this Friday (October 7) at Open Palm Court Gallery, India Habitat Centre, is the 15^th solo show by Noida-based artist Kajal Nalwa. On display at the show are her artworks done in charcoal and water colours on paper. And as expected, the theme of her work this time too is women and nature and the inter-dependence between these two givers of life. And, in each of her works, Nalwa has tried to draw the attention of the viewer towards the role of women in preserving ecology.

One of Nalwa’s works that is on display at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi

“In this exhibition, I have portrayed various aspects of women’s life. I believe that a woman, in a semi abstract form somehow merging with her natural surroundings, brings in the element of an undercurrent that correlates divinity with nature,” she says.

With this show, Nalwa has completed a circle of life, in a way. She entered the art world with her water colours, before graduating to oil and canvas. In fact, she specialised in oil on canvas solely using a palette knife. Her first exhibition was a group show at Art Junction, The Lalit New Delhi in 1999. The rave reviews she received motivated her to move further. The next year, in 2000, she held her first solo show, at Art Folio, Chandigarh, and it was well appreciated by one all.

Her first solo exhibition in New Delhi, held at Lalit Kala Akademi in 2002, was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh. The show got rave reviews and there has been no looking back for her ever since.

Nalwa was quite passionate about art even when she was a child. Creating art works, painting and sketching came naturally to her. She has always viewed everything around her in terms of colour, texture and source of light.

“I have always been amid nature. I studied at Sanawar School in Shimla and later, since I got married to an Army officer, I lived in cantonments. The scenic natural environment at Sanawar and various cantonments nurtured the artist in me,” she says. “Nature impresses, intrigues and inspires me,” she says.

“Though I draw inspiration from all creative persons, it is the works of Van Gogh and Satish Gujral that truly motivate me to better myself,” Nalwa adds.

“I am happiest when I am drawing and painting. And I thank God everyday for giving me this creativity,” she says.

Art apart, Nalwa loves listening to music and enjoys watching movies.