Nature Morte is pleased to present a solo exhibition of new works by Manisha Parekh entitled, Chromatic Flight. This is Parekh’s 6th solo exhibition with Nature Morte since her debut participation at the gallery’s second exhibition at the India Habitat Center, Delhi in January 1998.
Over the past few decades, Parekh has forged a unique relationship with ink, watercolour, and charcoal with a masterful handling of the materials rendering each line, gesture and stroke exquisite and deliberate. With series such as An Embrace and Edges of Illusion, she has introduced bolder hues in her work, lending the exhibition its title. The series, Liquid Light, on the contrary, looks at the extent of charcoal’s saturation with the blackest blacks set in the glow of liquid gold paint. Moon Flower is another series painted on handmade paper.
Also on view are two sculptures by Parekh, which are being shown in Delhi for the first time. A new sculptural work, Alchemy, expands her visual language with the use of tactile materials, like copper and iron. With the touch of a hand and ticking of time, the work explores the natural qualities of the metals, inviting oxidation, rusting, bending and piercing. In this work, the textures and sheen of the metal replaces the artist’s usual investigation via paint and colour. Following you is a 12-part mild steel sculpture. As you walk past the sculpture, the steel and shadows coalesce to form infinite new two-dimensional drawings on the wall.