Deciphering the impact of all-pervasive urban space and a a male-dominated society

Emerging artist Shruti Gupta Chandra’s new canvases unravel the complexity of the process of urbanization. Her life-size painted works often comprise strong figurative forms. Their inherent stark masculinity exudes an overpowering and lingering sense of physicality. In her latest solo, entitled ‘Counter Gaze’, though, she opts for a marked change in her artistic process and form.

The scale of her canvases remains the same – some of them as large as 6 ft x 5 ft – and so does her core concern about people trapped within randomly growing urban spaces. However, this political/gender critique surfaces in subtle tones. To attain this effect, the artist has switched from her earlier homo-centric figurative language, to more abstract visuals full of grids & staircases.

‘Counter Gaze’ is the launching exhibition (October 11- 31, 2011) of New Delhi based Gallery Artspeaks India after first having been hosted at Galerie Romain Roland, Alliance Francaise. According to the gallery director, Ashwini Pai Bahadur, it was an obvious choice to host her solo for their launch since Shruti Gupta’s paintings, which include non-conformist subjects, exude technical brilliance. They transform the urban jungle around us into an engaging piece of art.

The artist has been quoted as saying: “While it’s obvious that urbanization takes place for the development of human beings, we cannot overlook the fact that it also contributes to their own suffering.” She has tried to capture this irony of human existence in her work. As curator of the show Johny M.L explains, one person gets divided into many through fragmentation, giving rise to a state of ‘mutiplicity’ in today’s highly complex/ed modern, urban society.

The dichotomy crops up as an inhabitant of this teeming metropolis nevertheless feels lonely. Faced with gaping loneliness and an inevitable breakdown of relationships, one constantly searches for emotional sustenance, giving rise to a vacuum in an individual’s life that the artist tries to grasp in her thought-provoking works.