Abstract art is like music: Seema Pandey
Sky is not the limit for me but an immense visual inspiration, says abstract artist Seema Pandey gleefully. Her early influence has been looking to the sky and remains so each time she flies perching in airplane's window seat!
In art circles globally and as an educator-critic, she has carved out a niche as an abstract artist, immersing her heart and soul in creating art for the last 15 years and held both solo and group exhibitions at venues in Delhi, Bangalore, Kyoto and Tokyo, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Frankfurt and Sofia. She has been called as a subject mentor by institutions like the United Nations Information Center, The British Council and Pearson among several other institutes. She published a research paper 'American Influence on Japanese Art & Vice Versa'.
Millennium Post's Ravi V. Chhabra interviewed her in the midst of her ongoing solo exhibition 'Where the sky is Pink and Clouds are Green', presented at Triveni Kala Sangam in Delhi from July 11-20, 2022.
Your earliest observations of the world, images, dreams and scenes around you that impacted your forte as an abstract artist?
I guess my obsession with the sky above....it has been a source of strength and artistic inspiration.
Abstract painting is like a piece of music. The way we do not look for or search for any story or meaning in a musical piece and just enjoy it, we must not struggle to look for meaning or story in painting. You spend some time in front of a picture and you will start seeing things.
Isn't it correct to assume that the abstract art is far more complex to comprehend than the landscape or figurative?
It is all about familiarity. When we are familiar with the forms in art works, we call it realistic and when we have not seen that form in our past, we call it abstract.
How do you view collage(s) as art and do they have appreciation and commercial value?
Collage is an interesting medium and yes, they get recognition and appreciation as art works. In the past too, some amazing collage artists like Picasso, Braque and Henri Matisse, Kurt Schwitters, Max Earnst had used collages as a medium of creating artworks. Even now there are some amazing collage artists I saw in the India Art fair like Ian Malhotra, Maya Varadaraj, Chila Kumari Burman.
I am often told non-abstract work sells more on a global scale. Why so?
I do not agree with this. I see a lot of abstract artists being in demand amongst art buyers and collectors.
Name a few of your favourite artists in various genres, specially for abstract art. Reasons?
I love the works of print maker Krishna Reddy. I like V S Gaitonde's paintings, A Ramachandra and Benod Behari Mukherjee are my favourite artists.
Which medium(s) do you use and why?
I enjoy working with acrylic and charcoal. I like gouache. I worked in oil after a long-time during the pandemic and loved working with it. My works are mostly in acrylic as this medium complements and supports my style of working and helps me get desired results in painting.
Your description of semi-abstract art?
Semi abstract art for me would be an art with some recognizable and some non-recognizable forms.
What connection do you find between your art, torture, social fabric and music. How do you do the mixing?
Artists are as much part of this modern society as any other profession. Modern artists are aware of the trends going in various parts of the world. They are experimenting. I do not make deliberate efforts to do so. if it happens it happens organically.
Best way to foster abstract art?
By talking and interacting with viewers, artists need to become more approachable. The whole atmosphere of the art gallery can be very intimidating for some viewers.
