Solo show of 40 recent works including three-dimensional canvas works, drawings and mixed media works of Ritu Kamath February 21st to 27th, 2018 (12.00 noon to 8.00 p.m.) at Lalit Kala Akademi (Galleries 2 & 3), Rabindra Bhavan, 35, Ferozeshah Road, New Delhi. This exhibition is curated by Anoop Kamath.
Ritu Kamath 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 mesmerise 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 Kamath says, “That as an artist she is deeply curious in this part of the body that is hair as it conveys multiple emotions in the way it is kept. From wilderness, fury to freedom and beauty.”
From 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 Ritus 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…”
