Flamboyant display of colours in Delhi-based artist's show

When a multitude of colours explodes creating a flamboyant mayhem on canvas, it creates an illusion of energy and positivity, often exuding happiness.
Delhi-based artist Rashmi Sikand Yadav delves into this illusional space by exploring expressive linear gestures and unique textures in her abstract acrylic paintings, intending to portray a sense of unbridled happiness.
43 of her art works in three different mediums will be on display in an exhibition titled "Ascension: An Ode to Expression and Movement," that begins today at India Habitat Centre here.
Proficient in three mediums - acrylic, ink and charcoal - Yadav is a self taught artist whose works reflect spontaneity to create an emotional impact of colours, texture, light, atmospheric condition and composition of ground and space.

"My abstract landscapes are interpretations of what I see around me. The series is about expression and movement and rhythm, pattern and process describe the essence of my work," she says.
Seeming to originate from a central point, her work in acrylic on canvas displays a liberal use of vibrant colour and multiple layering techniques offering vivacity to the art work.

"I also believe that colour can influence and transform the human experience. I see colours in everything and colours make me happy. I don't look at things black and white. I think the best expression is through colours," she says.

Drawing inspiration from nature and her own emotions, she brings alive the beauty of evoking surprise by mixing pigments, as she captures the momentum of life itself.
"The centre being the heart, the core, like a seed from where everything just goes haywire. Once it starts from a particular place, it is infinite," she says.
Discarding the conventional method of fixing a canvas on an easel while painting, the 47-year-old artist who calls herself an active painter, likes to lay it flat on the table in order to have a multi-dimensional access to it.
She moves it around, working from each side and angle until the painting is complete.

She says, working in this manner, "allows me the freedom to engage in the piece in its entirety and not just from one perspective. It helps me connect with the composition."
Interspersed with bar codes and airport codes, she insists
they are not stories or narratives leading to some serious issues in the world but sheer memories from the places she has travelled.
"My work in ink is like a travelogue which reminds me of the places I have been to, so they all have bar codes and airport codes. It is a reminder of the elements that I have picked up from there," Yadav, who has travelled reasonably in the past, says.

The artist, who has been painting for 11 years now, also works in charcoal, but her love for colours remains immaculate and finds a place in her works in the monochrome medium as well.
Her collection in charcoal is dominated by figurative works, where she explores the intricacies and details of the human form, colour, space and dimensions.
Paint is dripped and poured on to the surface while the negative space around the central figures is covered over by various markings made by charcoal and paints.
"If you see my charcoals, the background is very colorful. I am happiest and I feel rewarded when I can achieve a work that is compelling, meditative and insightful," she says.

The exhibition is set to conclude on November 26.