Artist Seema Kohli has been inspired by several elements in her life, and these reflect in her works. In her upcoming show, the artist pays ode to Dutch painter Vincent Willem van Gogh, who she says, has been her childhood fascination.
“As a person, Van Gogh inspired me and so does his works. I thought he was amazing because all his works except 'The Potato Eaters', were full of stars, sunshine, light and in peace. However, his story is that of a man of confusion and distress, who also had turmoil in life,” she says.
Kohli had never thought of doing a show where she would do a series to pay tribute to an artist. She found the opportunity fascinating and agreed immediately when Rekha Modi, the show’s conceptualiser, revealed the concept. Kohli then titled the series ‘Van Gogh and me’.
“Rekha had a concept in her mind where she called the entire thing an understanding of the art of Van Gogh, his life and environment that encouraged his work.”
In 2016, Kohli along with Modi and two other artists—Mahbubur Rahman and Tyeba Lipi— visited a couple of museums across Europe. There, they tried to capture the spirit of Van Gogh, his works and the places he travelled to. So, during autumn, the four of them attended ample number of shows which were a tribute to the artist.
“We visited the Van Gogh Museum and Helen Colon Museum. We visited six to seven museums around the time,” she adds.
Kohli recalls that it was the show at the Van Gogh Museum that inspired her the most. It featured his works on the occasion of his 125th year of celebration. “At the show, we saw his original works along with works of contemporary artists. This gave an insight on his life, the colours he used and his style of art,” she said.
Though Kohli was supposed to work on only one or two canvases, she ended up working with other mediums as well. Her work of art includes one canvas and two sculptures which she calls sculptural paintings of the bust of Van Gogh. “This is because on one side, I have painted Van Gogh’s works and on the back, I have painted the way I see sunflowers,” she explains.
The other two mediums include photographic stories of 'The Potato Eaters'—her personal take on the subject had she been a potato eater. The other photographic stories is an interpretation of Van Gogh’s painting café. Besides this, there is also a 9-ft installation of an ear.
The artist has also tried to achieve finesse in the works by balancing her artistic know-how with Van Gogh’s style.
“When I started on the canvas, I wanted to do sunflowers and did them. I showed it to people and they loved it. Yet, I wasn’t satisfied. So, I realised that what was missing was my style of art in the works. This is the series that I called ‘Van Gogh and me’. So, I made forests in it and added detailing in the trunks of trees,” she says.
