Shobha Broota’s immersive exhibition, The Lightness of Being, showcases her work with paint and fabric

Shobha Broota’s abstract paintings at her show, The Lightness of Being, look deceptively simple. Large canvases in blue, ochre, red and fuschia that calm the nerves. On closer inspection, the canvases appear intricate and layered with detail. Threads and wool appear stretched to create fascinatingly abstract patterns. The show, a collateral programme of the Kochi Muziris Biennale, spotlights the essence of the veteran artist’s oeuvre. “I won’t call it a retrospective, it contains works past and present. This is an outstanding collection of her works,” says Ina Puri, the curator of the show.

Ina has known the artist and her family for over 30 years and is well-versed in Shobha’s artistic predilections. A trained Hindustani classical singer (she completed her Sangeet Visharad degree in classical vocals. Shobha is also a sitarist), music forms the schemata of Shobha’s art practice. “The works on show are a combination of sound, music, touch and memory,” says Ina, who spent months going through Shobha’s works as part of her curatorial journey. 

A work from Shobha Broota’s show
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Ina, who is also a writer, describes Shobha’s method “immersive, quiet and luminous.” “There would be music playing while the artist goes on about her work – mixing colours, then dipping her fingers deftly on the palette before throwing it on to the canvas. It is almost meditative. I sit in the gallery and just soak it all,” says Ina, who believes it is important to know the artist on a personal level in order to be able to curate her works. “My catalogues are often like personal essays,” she says.

Eighty-two-year-old Shobha was born in Delhi in 1943; and after her training in music, she did her Diploma in Fine Arts from College of Art, Delhi, in 1964. While Shobha started her artistic career painting portraits and figurative works, she later moved to abstract works and began exploring the possibilities of using fabric and thread. “Gazing into her painting, it is hard to say where threads end and the painting begins, or vice versa,” says Ina. 

On display at Mocha Art Cafe, housed in a 400 year old heritage Dutch building, where large windows open out to blue skies and busy streets of Jew Town. “The blues of Kochi’s water and sky, the colours of the sun … find resonance in Shobha’s canvasses,” Ina adds.

Presented by Ardee Foundation, the show also had students who were brought in for an interactive session with Shobha. “Through the foundation, we find a common space for art and education to converge,” says Shefali Varma, chairperson of The Ardee Group, and advisor on the board of the Kochi Muziris Biennale. “Showing Shobha’s deeply contemplative works in a heritage space adds to the entire experience,” says Shefali.

Supported by Gallery Espace, The Lightness of Being, is on at Mocha Art Cafe, Jew Town, till March 31.