Fragrance of the Blue Moon Art Exhibition showcases art works of 3 women artistes

Ahead of Women’s Day on March 8, the Welcome Art Gallery of ITC Rajputana is showcasing the art works of 3 women artists – Minal Moon, Shravani Dang and Vaishali Banerjee in ‘Fragrance of the Blue Moon’, a floral themed art exhibition.

LOCKDOWN ARTIST

A home chef and writer by profession, Shravani Dang used the lockdown to explore and hone her artistic skills. “The lockdown was a time when we were all stuck in our houses with a lot of negativity and anxiety around. In this time, through my paintings, I shared the joy and positivity of flowers. Not everyone has access to gardens or greenery and my work was an attempt to capture the beauty of flowers on canvas”, says Shravani, whose 11 art works are on display at the exhibition.

LOTUS AS MUSE

Like Shravani, Minal Moon too unleashed the artist in her during the Covid-19 pandemic. A CA by profession, Minal found her muse in lotuses. “There are so many different ways in which one can see a lotus. The wavy leaves standing firm in mud and murk inspired me to create these works of art. In my paintings, I have experimented with different colours and shapes of lotus. My paintings are an amalgamation of beauty, peace, myth, mysticism and eternal bliss”, tells Minal.

INSPIRED FROM MUGHAL AND DUTCH ART

On the other hand, Vaishali Banerjee, a 23 year old journalism student, has been painting since she was just 2 years old. “I got inspired to paint from my mother (Aparna Banerjee). Art is synonymous with happiness for me. Though I usually paint landscapes, this is the first time that I have made floral paintings for this exhibition. For these paintings, I have taken inspiration from Mughal miniature as well as Dutch styles of art”, shares Vaishali, whose as many as 14 paintings are being exhibited at the show.

FROM THE CURATOR

The exhibition is curated by Gurgaon-based Aparna Banerjee, who is an acclaimed artist with over 55 international exhibitions, art summits, talks, and shows to her credit. She is also the mentor of all the three artists who are displaying their works at the exhibition. “The objective of this exhibition is to let the women artists make a statement through art. In the times of lull and despair, flowers bring a lot of positivity and beauty even if it is for a short duration”.

Talking about her experience of putting up an exhibition in Jaipur, she adds:  “Even though I don’t know anyone personally in Jaipur, but because of the warmth of the people and their understanding of art and culture, it always feels like my city”.

INAUGURATION

The exhibition was inaugurated by IAS Mugdha Sinha, Secretary, Department of Science & Technology, Rajasthan; Sudhir Mathur, Art Collector and Rishi Mattu, General Manager of ITC Rajputana on February 26.

On the occasion, Rishi Mattu said: “ITC Rajputana is dedicated to the cause of nurturing local artists and their art by giving them a platform where they can exhibit their artworks. This forum known as ‘Welcome Art’ over the years has earned recognition for the quality of its many initiatives to promote the cause of art and artists.”