Niketa's Paintings

Niketa Fazal is a Nairobi based artist whose paintings evoke a sense of calm and deep introspection towards life and environment. An artist whose commitment towards environment seems as deep as her cultural roots, Niketa’s canvases have a soothing and therapeutic effect on the onlooker.

Having studied Graphic Design in Birmingham, Niketa has been an Art Director for ten years. She has her BFA from Kenyatta University and is now involved full time in art and painting.

Niketa’s paintings are mostly representational covering divergent themes spanning Nature, People and Urban development. Her work has been showcased at several exhibitions including at UN Recreation Centre, Nairobi, ISK Nairobi besides innumerable pop-up shows at private residences.

According to Niketa:

I enjoy portraying moments in time, that have been part of my life experience in my art.

The ‘endangered animals’ series features animals found in the Nairobi National Park and my aim was to raise awareness about their shrinking environment due to increased urbanisation and development.

The medium is acrylics, candy coloured abstract backgrounds are created from complementary and contrasting colors which also form the bodies of the animal that appear to be camaflouged within the painting.

My paintings reflect my ongoing obsession with layers and what lies beneath. Rich tactile layers of paint and texture overlap and interact building a complex terrain with the aim of encouraging observation of our thoughts and actions.

They are metaphors for the unconscious mind as it processes an infinite stream of information, ideas, experiences and feelings when faced with a topic.

My take:

Niketa is an extremely talented artist whose emotional connect to her work transcends beyond the borders of physical existence. Her paintings are like gasps of breath that gives life to her canvases.

A collection of paintings depicting wild life, her canvases represented to me a careful effort to display an innate peace of nature that get reflected her choice of colours. Earthly shades of brown, white, cream with sprinkle of red in between carefully merge into backgrounds on her canvases that are representative of serenity and peace.

I was provided an opportunity to see her paintings at the residence of Ms.Sapna (her close friend), an excellent host who treated me with a handpicked collection of gourmet ‘petha’ filled with caramelized milk concoction of sugar. My sincere thanks to Kalpa my lovely friend from Nairobi who recommended me to the pop-up painting exhibition of Niketa held in New Delhi.

Comments

Mannil Krishnan by Mannil Vikraman (In Malayalam)

മണ്ണിൽ കൃഷ്ണനെ അറിയുന്ന ഞാൻ എന്റെ ബാല്യകാല സ്മരണകളിൽ അവധിക്കെത്തുന്ന കൃഷ്ണേട്ടയാണ് ഇന്നും. പ്രൗഢഗംഭീരമായ നടത്തവും കൃശഗാത്രനാണെങ്കിലും തലയെടുപ്പോടെയുള് കുശലാന്വേഷണങ്ങളും അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ മാറ്റുകൂട്ടിയിരുന്നു. ഭാരത തലസ്ഥാനത്ത്‌ ഭരണയന്ത്രം നിലകൊള്ളുന്ന സെക്രട്ടറിയേറ്റിൽ ഗതാഗത മന്ത്രാലയത്തിലായിരുന്നു ഉദ്യോഗം. അവധിക്കു നാട്ടിലെത്തുന്ന എല്ലാ വർഷവും പുതുമയേറിയ പല ഉപകരണങ്ങളും കൊണ്ടുവന്നു തറവാട്ടിൽ പ്രദർശിപ്പിക്കാറുണ്ട്‌. തറവാട്ടിലെ മറ്റംഗങ്ങളെ അവരുടെ വീടുകൾ സന്ദർശിച്ച് വിശേഷങ്ങൾ അന്വേഷിക്കാറു പതിവാണ്. ഉദ്യോഗത്തിനായി നാടുവിട്ടശേഷം അദ്ദേഹത്തെ ഞാൻ കാണുന്നത് ന്യൂഡൽഹിയിൽ വെച്ചായിരുന്നു. അവിടെ അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ അനൗദ്യോഗിക കർമമണ്ഡലം എന്നെ വിസ്‌മ യിപ്പിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ട്. ഇപ്പോഴത്തെ ഡൽഹി ആർ.കെ.പുരത്തെ അയ്യപ്പ ക്ഷേത്രത്തിന്റെ മൂലസ്ഥാനമായ മുനീർക്കയിൽ അയ്യപ്പ വിഗ്രഹം പ്രതിഷ്ഠ നടന്നത് മുതൽ ഇന്ന് കാണുന്ന ക്ഷേത്രത്തിന്റെ വളർച്ചക്ക് കാരണഭൂതരായവരിൽ മണ്ണിൽ കൃഷ്ണന്റെ പങ്കു വളരെ വലുതാണ്. മുനീർക്കയിൽ നിന്ന് ആർ.കെ.പുരം സെക്ടർ II ലേക്ക് അയ്യപ്പ ക്ഷേത്രം മാറ്റാനുള്ള പ്രത്യേക കാരണം ഇന്ദിര ഗാന്ധി പ്രഖ്യാപ...

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