In her solo show, the Delhi-based artist Ritu Kamath will be presenting 40 of her recent works. The artworks created by her include three-dimensional canvases, drawings and mixed-media works. This exhibition is curated by Anoop Kamath.
The artist uses different colours of translucent polycarbonate sheets that she hand cuts into different shapes. After drawing patterns in ink she layers the work with the hand cut sheets to create unique perspectives and depth. The resulting appearance of the artwork mesmerises the viewer. The artist uses hair and its fragments and sprouting wings as a metaphor to represent the desire for emancipation and freedom from bondage.
Ritu says, “As an artist she is deeply curious about hair as it conveys multiple emotions such as wilderness, fury to freedom and beauty.”
It was from her childhood she had understood that hair was not allowed to be kept open. This fact disturbed her immensely. Hair is deeply politicised and socialised especially for women. In India’s culture and history human hair and hairdos have been a never ending subject of declamation for moralists. As a visual artist, who is also a woman she now understands that trying to exercise the freedom to keep ones hair the way one likes is implicit in the struggle of social and political emancipation of women.
The eminent art critic, poet and writer Suneet Chopra, who has keenly observed Ritu’s work over a decade remarks that “Ritu Kamath has experimented with several metiers and forms in her career as an artist. Her primary concern has been to create beauty with impact whether she is exploring the feminine form or exploring satires or themes of urban breakdown…”
Ritu is a Delhi-based artist. Her education includes a BFA—Painting and Sculpture from Jamia Milia Islamia University, New Delhi (1988-92). She has exhibited in over 60 group exhibitions in the country and abroad. Her recent exhibitions in 2017 include NEXT at the The White Wall Gallery (Kochi), A.M.M.A.A.—The Archive for Mapping Mother Artists in Asia, Annual Art show Expression 2017 in New Delhi, Once Upon a Time in Black and White by Art Centrix Space. She has attended several artists’ camps and residencies. Ritu Kamath lives and works in Noida, Delhi NCR.
The exhibition will be on view at Delhi’s Lalit Kala Akademi from 21-27 February