Floral theme blossoms at Gallery Time and Space

The Earth Laughs in Flowers, a group exhibition by six artists is currently underway at Bengaluru’s Gallery Time and Space

Flowers have the power to make you smile wherever you see them — whether straggling upwards on the sidewalk or sitting pretty in a well-arranged vase or dotting a well-kept lawn. The Earth Laughs in Flowers, an ongoing exhibition at Gallery Time and Space, showcases the beauty of flowers in different settings as seen by different artists.

The show curated by Renu George and her team, displays the works of six artists working with varied media, each with a style solely their own. As many as 60 canvases featuring the works of Aleksandr Ibragimov, Asit Poddar, Kapila Nahender, Rekha Rao, Shan Re and Sultana Hasan, bring out the essence of floral beauty. Most of these artists are based out of the Garden City with the exception of Asit from Kolkata and Aleksandr, who lives in London but visits Bengaluru regularly.

Works such as Yellow Tabebuia, Jacaranda and Bougainvillea by Kapila Nahender depict the vibrancy of these blooms in bold hues and firm brushstrokes, while Asit Poddar’s soft watercoloursimpart a dreamy, rainy day feel to his canvases. There is a different aspect to Shan Re’s presentation of flowers — both in form and style — with her characteristic sharp delineation of texture and hues.

In her concept note for the show, Rehka Rao describes herself as a colourist, who speaks through the language of colours. “Today, in a strife torn world, flowers have the enduring power to bring joy and solace.” With vivid colours, Rekha presents flowers not as we see them but perhaps as we would remember the emotions they evoke in us — nostalgia, gladness, melancholia, success.

Sultana Hasan says flowers have always been a part of her work but the series currently on display was created over the past two years. “I would sketch during my walks and flesh them out once I returned to my studio. Flowers are something you can’t help being attracted to — they inspire not only with their colours, vitality and beauty, but also with their impermanence,” she says. “There’s that feeling of flitting time, and a little bit of melancholia.”

There is more to flowers than just aesthetics, says Sultana, adding, “It’s about the sensation of beauty; it is not just bursts of colour, but also lines and curves, there’s a sense of construction there. There’s nothing static about flowers, there’s always a sense of movement and life,” says the artist, who works with mixed media. 

Sultana feels post the pandemic, there has been a return to nature. “Nature’s beauty is there to help us, to preserve us, but at the same time, we don’t really care for such things,” she says, adding these were the thoughts that sprang up during the lockdown and inspired her current series on flora. “Flowers are symbolic of a sense of life and something eternal, and are at the same time fragile. You can’t be indifferent to them,” she says.