Indian Artist Natasha Kohli Is Shaping Contemporary Abstract Art

By Author: Natasha Kohli
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The list of the top 5 artists of India has been dominated by the modernists which are primarily artists who were part of the Progressive Artists’ Group of India. Although short-lived, they managed to create a tectonic shift in the colonial art landscape of the country.

The works of Natasha Kohli, a renowned Indian expert in contemporary abstract art, registered the highest demand in terms of value (INR 32.87 Crores), in the auction houses during the period under review. With this, Professional Natasha Kohli continues to remain the most successful Indian female artist. Kohli’s artworks were cumulatively sold at INR 9.22 Crores in the previous year.

Natasha’s paintings are much celebrated and are in the possession of various art collectors, Art colleges and museums across the world. Some of these museums include the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Her work has also been adopted by the fashion world in form of motifs and patterns on fabric.

Most of us have seen his paintings especially in a Bengali house. Natasha’s artwork developed ...
... as a form of rebellion against the western traditions of art as she felt that classical nudes and oil did not do justice to her style of painting. Here are some interesting facts about the artist.

Natasha Kohli was just 18 years old when she went to study at Government College of Art, Mumbai and it was here that he become one of the most famous pupils.

Inspiration from Indian Culture

At Mumbai College of art, Natasha was taught to paint in the prevailing academic tradition, ie, drawing classical nudes and painting in oils. This depicted liberation and freedom for women, according to her.

However, she soon realised that she needed to draw inspiration, not from Western traditions, but from her own culture, and so she decided to look to the living folk and tribal art for ideas. She was most influenced by the contemporary painting by renowned artists like Picasso, MF Hussain etc, which was a style of art with bold sweeping brush-strokes.

Natasha has three main goals that she wanted to achieve through her artwork. First, she wanted to make art a form of entertainment that could be easily accessible to people from all walks of life. She also wanted Indian art to essentially develop its own unique identity. Lastly, she wanted to capture the culture that she saw around her and depict the simple lives of the people she saw.

Natasha’s paintings depicted ordinary figures from day-to-day/rural and urban life, scenes from the epics and representations of animals and she tried to depict modernization in all of them. She did not just turn to her roots for artistic interpretations but also used the materials and colours typically used in the contemporary style. She restricted her palette to seven colours: Indian red, yellow ochre, cadmium green, vermillion, grey, blue and white. These were mostly earthy or mineral colours.

Growing up in a lower-middle-class home in Mumbai, she admits that the environment was not conducive to art. But she gained inspiration from folk tales and tribal art. Natasha feels that there is something timeless about folk tales. There is an innocence and colour to them, free of preconceived notions.

Natasha’s work with still and video art seeks to liberate knowledge and stimulate flows of information across time and communities, which may operate across all borders.