Kajal Nalwa

Artist-AssociatedArtist-Chandigarh

As human life gets entangled more and more in worldly affairs, the so-called ‘modern’ aspect engulfs its existence…. Amidst this humane chaos, Kajal Nalwa pays tribute to nature and divinity by reasserting the need for a harmonious relationship between the human and his surrounding nature. Using the medium of oil on canvas solely using a palette knife, Nalwa beautifully reflects the various shades of nature keeping human existence as its backdrop. Her works are very soothing, yet reflect the most intricate facet of human life.

Born in Kolkata, Kajal lives and works in New Delhi. Kajal lived in Sri Lanka as a child. She did her schooling at The Lawrence School Sanawar, with art as her major subject. She subsequently did Textile Design from Sophia Polytechnic Mumbai where she was awarded the Camlin Watercolour Prize in 1983.  She has also participated in the SAARC artist workshop held in New Delhi in 2003.

The subject of her work is nature and she depicts women in harmony with nature. The medium of her work is oil on canvas using a palette knife and watercolour.

Kajal held her first solo exhibition in New Delhi in 2002, which was inaugurated by Dr. Manmohan Singh, Honourable Prime Minister of India. She has since then held seven solo exhibitions in India and one in London at the Nehru Centre. The Lord Paul of Melbourne inaugurated her exhibition in London in 2007

In her latest work entitled ‘A JOURNEY’ she has portrayed women – the giver of life in diverse forms and nature, wherein she brings in the element of a bilateral flow between the two life forms. The expressions of the women in her paintings depict a relationship that seems to be interdependent. This is a woman’s journey and how she lives in harmony with her surroundings.

Iconographic interpretation of the divine force inspires the artist. The elephant God emerges out of a very sublime horizon. Ganesha symbolizes the divine force that surrounds the human form, which he does not always notice. Abstraction in form and textural backgrounds adds that mystical air to her works.

Kajal Nalwa in many ways has paid tribute to the selflessness of the divine force called ‘Nature’.