Landscape painting in the abstract has been Shilpa Nikam's first love. A masters from the J J School of Arts, Mumbai painting landscapes come very easily to Shilpa. With a basketful of awards from renowned institutions she is definitely one of the most upcoming artists in recent times. She had participated in a large number of group shows over the years. Untitled Works, her first solo show was held at the Jehangir Art Gallery. All her works are landscape oriented compositions. In her paintings, she has been undermining her sense of reality all of which are paper works. The use of simple material conveys well the storm that is within her.

Though her works are strictly abstract one can decipher a symmetrical style and her use of solid colors in the depiction of hills and valleys convey a magical sense of transparency. Her early experiments with wood comes across in her recent paintings. According to Shilpa, "Painting is an expression of my spirituality without which I would not have been able to represent by beliefs and thoughts. It is the sole medium of expression of my thoughts." Her paintings often come across as an obsessive chant of nature. For her it is a means to an end, a search that is for the unknown.

The smudge and the smear of ink, the ripping apart of paper, the unfurling of surfaces bleed deeply of tender incisions. Her mood and temperament also gets reflected in the paintings. One also discovers a sense of yearning and desperate need to follow her instincts which she herself admits, "It is want I feel and what I want to do and I do it in terms of nature which for me is a continual source of experience." Her works delve into the deep and succeed in reaching the core of the human psyche.

Shilpa Nikam can be contacted at:
# 103/ 'Iris' No - 25, Central Park,
Nalasopara (E), Dist. Thane - 401 209,
Phone: 912 - 405 148

By : Sharmistha Chatterjee