Nature

Rural women often dominate Bharti's paintings. Role of the women and their bonding with the surrounding has been her constant source of inspiration and vocabulary. Rustic backdrops and earthy tones in her paintings get combined with ethnic emotions, bringing about a subtle rootedness in her expression. Her extensive travel to villages of India creates bonds beyond her practice. This connect keeps her abreast with transformations taking place in the milieu. The endeavour is to resurrect a repertoire of rural sensibilities, some of what is fast moving in oblivion. She peruses compositions myriad in colours, textures, and figures, evoking distinct emotions. Desert Song, Rhythms of Desert, Desert Dream and colours of sand were titles of Bharti's earlier shows that portrayed the vast landscape of the barren desert and the most colourful and creative people living in this environment. The mesmerising sand-scape with its changing shades provided a perfect backdrop for the people, cattle, mud houses and various earthy elements depicted so often in her work.Bharti's colour palette is dominated with earthy tones and rustic colours used effectively in elements in geometric compositions. Her paintings intrinsically weave elaborate patterns and designs in textiles, jewellery and the walls paintings. The sensibility of crafts, tradition and texture enlivens span of her canvas.

Rural women often dominate Bharti's paintings. Role of the women and their bonding with the surrounding has been her constant source of inspiration and vocabulary. Rustic backdrops and earthy tones in her paintings get combined with ethnic emotions, bringing about a subtle rootedness in her expression. Her extensive travel to villages of India creates bonds beyond her practice. This connect keeps her abreast with transformations taking place in the milieu. The endeavour is to resurrect a repertoire of rural sensibilities, some of what is fast moving in oblivion. She peruses compositions myriad in colours, textures, and figures, evoking distinct emotions. Desert Song, Rhythms of Desert, Desert Dream and colours of sand were titles of Bharti's earlier shows that portrayed the vast landscape of the barren desert and the most colourful and creative people living in this environment. The mesmerising sand-scape with its changing shades provided a perfect backdrop for the people, cattle, mud houses and various earthy elements depicted so often in her work.Bharti's colour palette is dominated with earthy tones and rustic colours used effectively in elements in geometric compositions. Her paintings intrinsically weave elaborate patterns and designs in textiles, jewellery and the walls paintings. The sensibility of crafts, tradition and texture enlivens span of her canvas.

The beast within! That is the thought that comes to mind when one is confronted with H.R. Das's bulls. There is an empathy that he evokes in the viewer when faced with his canvases. They exude the power, pride and heart of the beast that is a part of us all. H.R. Das captures the essence of village life through his amazing cattle. His, bulls and cows don't just exist but pulsate with energy. Whether yoked or free they effortlessly express the sheer strength and beauty of the beast. H.R. Das has taken the bull and made it his own, one cannot dispute the fact that he has a distinctly unique style of portraying this magnificent animal that is so rooted in the Indian culture and psyche. In fact, some may say that he has taken a common place animal and given it a heroic status in the manner that it takes on an almost human persona. One can relate to the beast's agony, its joy of life, its anger and one can fear it as well. While some artists tend to overlook the background, treating it as a mere support for their central theme; H.R. Das, treats it like a stage setting in front of which his characters perform. They may recede and be dismissed as props, but his backgrounds still command attention, the intricate tapestry effect and mute lines provide a vibrant milieu that serve to highlight the interactions between the main players of his magnum opus. H.R. Das comes across as a director more than artist, putting forth a visual display of raw emotions and power.

For artist Irene Hoff, life is all about collecting stories, experiences, insights and inspiring the world to see what really matters. She does this by: taking on life adventures, small and big, doing the things she fears the most; by dreaming big and realizing her dreams such as getting Leonardo DiCaprio’s signature on one of her animal-art which she subsequently donated to ‘race animal extinction’; and last but not least, by making beautiful and alluring art. Irene works with mixed media, using acrylic on canvass, enriched with colorful printed patterns on special coated paper. “I love to work with large-scale pieces to create a big impact. “I often advise clients on the style that suits their environment best and incorporate personal influences, interiors, lifestyles and the clients’ vision to create the perfect match” says Irene. Irene feels we are losing the authenticity of who we truly are; losing our balance as humans. And once we lose our stability, we lose our freedom. The way we now live our lives not only causes damages to our body and soul, but also to our planet. For Irene, being in balance means having the ability to choose to feel good, inspired, loved, healthy, open and sensitive to all things and people that surround us. It means that our ‘energy source’ flows through and around us, uplifting ourselves and letting it shine on our environment. Her figurative art is not only a visual way of expression, but also a means of transferring ‘energy’ and insights to the person attracted to her work. She believes her art holds the potential of stirring positive thoughts, stimulating our ‘energy source’ and breaking down impeding feelings and beliefs. Irene’s art truly reflects who she is: her lightness of being, instinctive curiosity, unbounded humor, intense perceptiveness, and infectious positivism. She translates onto a canvass an illustration of her perceptions enthralled in emotional and spiritual growth at the time of creation. The imagery and symbolism she uses become a unique gateway in moving people, helping them to see the bigger picture and the roles that each of us has the potential to play.

For artist Irene Hoff, life is all about collecting stories, experiences, insights and inspiring the world to see what really matters. She does this by: taking on life adventures, small and big, doing the things she fears the most; by dreaming big and realizing her dreams such as getting Leonardo DiCaprio’s signature on one of her animal-art which she subsequently donated to ‘race animal extinction’; and last but not least, by making beautiful and alluring art. Irene works with mixed media, using acrylic on canvass, enriched with colorful printed patterns on special coated paper. “I love to work with large-scale pieces to create a big impact. “I often advise clients on the style that suits their environment best and incorporate personal influences, interiors, lifestyles and the clients’ vision to create the perfect match” says Irene. Irene feels we are losing the authenticity of who we truly are; losing our balance as humans. And once we lose our stability, we lose our freedom. The way we now live our lives not only causes damages to our body and soul, but also to our planet. For Irene, being in balance means having the ability to choose to feel good, inspired, loved, healthy, open and sensitive to all things and people that surround us. It means that our ‘energy source’ flows through and around us, uplifting ourselves and letting it shine on our environment. Her figurative art is not only a visual way of expression, but also a means of transferring ‘energy’ and insights to the person attracted to her work. She believes her art holds the potential of stirring positive thoughts, stimulating our ‘energy source’ and breaking down impeding feelings and beliefs. Irene’s art truly reflects who she is: her lightness of being, instinctive curiosity, unbounded humor, intense perceptiveness, and infectious positivism. She translates onto a canvass an illustration of her perceptions enthralled in emotional and spiritual growth at the time of creation. The imagery and symbolism she uses become a unique gateway in moving people, helping them to see the bigger picture and the roles that each of us has the potential to play.

Born in 1960, Buwa Shete graduated in Applied Arts from Abhinav Kala, Pune, in 1983. After graduating, he worked with advertising agencies as a creative director and illustrator for several years, while painting simultaneously. His first recognition came when he won an award at the National Exhibition of Young Painters in Calcutta, organized by M. F. Hussain. His paintings for a calendar on "Philosophy by Various Saints" won the London Advertising Award in 1997. Buwa's paintings are in the collections of Theramax, Swastik Batteries, IKEA, ICIL, as well as in private collections in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi and New York. Shete has held two solo shows and a number of group shows in Mumbai, Delhi, and Dubai. His style is characterized by contemporary modernist figures, rendered mysterious by his uniquely Indian style.