Artist Anita Goel Takes a Vibrant Udaan in the Post-COVID Skies
Anita Goel’s painting exhibition, Udaan, from 16-22 November, at Nehru Centre Art Gallery, is the perfect antidote to our bleak times
If you could colligate the expressiveness of colours in Matisse’s art and the hush in the movement of Van Gogh’s works, and connect it with generous doses of grace, you will arrive at the kind of elegance that artist Anita Goel oozes. In her powerful new series ‘Udaan’, to be showcased at the prestigious Nehru Centre Art Gallery, in solo art show from 16th to 22nd November, 2021, Anita manifests this elegance in freedom from the oppressions that bind our world today.
Having begun work on the series in 2009 and having taken it forward during the Covid lockdown, Anita will be displaying 15 out of the 50 abstract paintings from her ongoing 'Udaan' series. The rest have already been handpicked by individual and corporate patrons to adorn their private collections. ‘Udaan’ is a play of mixed medium in a large-scale format canvas, using gold and silver foil to reflect various cosmic moods. Layers of acrylics play peek-a-boo with engravings of moulding paste, resulting in an arrestingly visual, tactile effect.
‘Udaan,’ as the name implies, captures the spirit of birds in flight, symbolising freedom, aspirations, resolution and reaching greater heights and is also the artistic retelling of Anita’s personal journey towards light. It represents a release from the shackles of solitude, the free spirit, or fly-free ideology in the most ecstatic way. The mesmerising use of bold, beautiful colours beckons viewers to surrender the shackles of forced, learned solitude, to reclaim the spiritual freedom that is our birthright. Anita believes – “Even in a busy day, when we take ten minutes out to meditate, it only serves to enhance our being and makes our day better. This spell of the pandemic and the lockdown was one similar introspective time in our larger scheme of life. Now life awaits us on the other side.”
Having held a brush in her hand since a child, London-born, Mumbai-based Anita Goel joined Sir JJ School of Arts to further her talent and has been exploring the horizons of the abstract expressionist form for several years now. Right from the start, she has blended her art in canvassing ideas deeply rooted in freedom. Anita’s works are loved the world over and she has exhibited across Mumbai, Delhi, Canada, Dubai, London in over 20-25 shows. Her current exhibition combines her innate passion for freedom with her special manner of expressing visually, via oil and acrylics. Her works reflect freedom in its best abstract forms and demonstrate her incredible tenacity to hold on to positivity, so intimately and eloquently, even in the darkest nights of the soul – a lesson the world needs to hear now, and repeatedly till we believe it. Interestingly, Anita is also affiliated with several schools and NGOs and conducts art therapy workshops for the upkeep of people’s mental health, particularly senior citizens.
“An artist is all about his creativity and sales are just a by-product. My work is to create and immerse myself in my creations. Covid or no Covid, my paintings have always attracted people for their mercurial colour schemes and mystery, and I hope this time will be no different!” she quips when asked about what kind of turnout she is expecting at her exhibition in the post-Covid era. “On the contrary,” she adds, “I feel the market is showing an upward trend already. Since people are spending more time indoors, the demand for positive, vibrant and uplifting Art is growing and will continue to do so.”
This exhibition is a door to a beautiful world that Anita Goel has created with her inimitable artistry. Yours is to check out artist Anita Goel’s ‘Udaan’ at the Nehru Centre Art Gallery, Worli, from 16-22 November, 2021.