Thiruvananthapuram-based dentist Shalet MS’ solo exhibition focussed on abstracts in oil and acrylic

Shalet’s collection of paintings, ‘Intrinsic Escape’, showcases her experiments with various techniques

Shalet MS, a dentist, faced no teething problems when she began painting. A self-taught artist, she turned to the net to understand colours, mixing and techniques of painting.

More than 40 of her acrylic and oil works were displayed at the Museum Auditorium for her solo exhibition, ‘Intrinsic Escape’. The collection of abstracts in different sizes showed her felicity for words as well, as each work had an interesting title that shed light on the painting and invited viewers to ponder on the works.

‘Into the forest’, a set of three acrylic paintings in shades of black, blue and glimpses of other colours have hints of gold here and there. The three works showcased her skill in impasto, wherein she creates density by adding layers of paint.

Keeping with the festive season is a painting ‘Mahabali’, the mythical king of Kerala, whose annual visit to his kingdom is celebrated as Onam.

One of the best works in the collection is ‘India Today’, an oil painting, which brings alive Tagore’s famous lines ‘Where the world has not been broken up into fragments, By narrow domestic walls’. Shalet’s work shows a world of fragmented spaces., amidst which are clues to indicate what might have led to that division. Discussions and decisions about the food we eat and the way we worship and dress are some of the issues she has touched upon.

‘Where butterflies visit’ is a joyful work, with bursts of bright colours on the canvas creating a sensation of flowers and butterflies.

Although the artist has played around with different techniques, her favourite seems to be impressionism. Many of her paintings have sources of light playing hide and seek in a melange of colours. ‘Along the mountains’, ‘Waning moonlight’ and ‘After the storm’ are some of her other works that highlight the same style. The technique also suits her aim of trying to visually interpret her emotions and beliefs on canvas.