Artist Sheetal Gattani has established herself as an abstractionist of repute, who has mastered the medium of watercolor.

Born in Mumbai in 1968, Sheetal Gattani obtained a diploma in Art Education from J.J, School of Art in 1990. She went on to complete her Master’s degree in painting there. Her solo shows include those at Gallery Espace, New Delhi (2007); Bodhi gallery, Singapore (2007); Galarie 88, Kolkata (2006); Apparao Gallery, Chennai (2004), and Gallery Chemould (2007, 2001, 1998).

In 2001, when she had a solo show at Chemould, eminent artist-abstractionist Mehli Gobhai commented he was first apprehensive about her work, but was pleasantly surprised to see her work. Her paintings seem to be throbbing with new life-forms from another world. Her earthy, roughly textured paintings, with their highly reduced visual vocabulary, are built with several layers of watercolors, which in some places erupt on the surface and cause the paintings to resemble flaking, damp walls.

There is a new dimensionality apparent in some of Sheetal Gattani’s new paintings with deliberate cuts across the surface of the canvas angled and embossed onto a raised portion of the stretched frame. This is her way of calling attention to the all important line and its resultant shadow play, which has always been an integral part of her visual vocabulary.

The artist explains, “My concern has been with formlessness - a space of ‘no memory’ or associations; the oneness of the present moment. I work in layers, each layer choosing its own movement, emergence, evolving on its own.  It is only when I leave and respond unconditionally to what is happening that it occurs. It is the struggle of not bringing myself to the work…..”

She has once stated, “It’s a (sort of) give-and-take. I give my impressions to it; I get my expressions and even identity from it. My painting introduced me to the being that I am in a social context.” Sheetal Gattani’s paintings speak many different languages and conjure up contrasting emotions. Layer upon layer of color with hardly any discernable form lend a sense of timelessness to her works.

Elaborating on this aspect of her recently showcased at Mumbai based Chemould Prescott Road, a curatorial note stated: “We are immediately reminded of moss -laden and rusted surfaces, which have weathered over decades of neglect and decay. Yet, these new works on canvas are painstakingly executed without any conscious effort to represent anything known or familiar. What you see, however, are saturated colors and geometric grids, patterns, as a result of deliberate and careful (mis)treatment of the painted surface to get the desired texture and tonality.

“To fully appreciate the method and the magic of her joyful works, spend some unrushed time with each. It is almost like gazing into space - only when you let yourself take in the vastness, thought patterns automatically emerge and you become open to the possibilities of reaching within and experiencing life with all its richness and emotion.”

With the weight of the many layers of color almost equal to that of the paper, it is only natural that the surface might bulge or tear. But for Sheetal Gattani this is a natural element of her work. Starting with a piece of black paper, she instinctively chooses her colors.

According to the artist, her concern has invariably been with a certain sense of formlessness and the way one tends to perceive it in the oneness of the present moment. There was no specific or binding narrative through her latest acrylics on canvas series. But with this series, the dynamic artist sure pushed the scale of her creations up.

Largely known for her watercolor drawings in her two-decade long illustrious career, she explored a new medium. The artist fixed together several small-sized canvases for creating a cohesive piece of artwork. She points out that a choice of medium does not necessarily spell anything new, and elaborated, “Watercolor on paper has its certain limitations and acrylic on canvas seemingly was a natural transition.” To let viewers interpret the works on their own as what it represents, her works remain untitled.

On her part, she knows her painting is complete only when it ‘seduces’ and ‘talks’ to her. There is nothing predetermined about her work. She remarks, “…in any case, it’s a creation that was meant to be, I just happened to be the tool. When it was being done, that was the moment of wholeness, without being aware of it, which, of course, has seeds in a contrived effort.”

(Image source: Chemould)