Sujata Bajaj’s abstract artworks carry way more depth than their visual spectacle. Starting from her childhood love for the universe to rewatching NASA Hubble’s images, the Spacescapes exhibition is born out of curiosity.
Diving her lifestyle between Jaipur, Dubai, Paris and Norway, Sujata is renowned for her mixed-media work. In this interview, Sujata explains her creative journey, techniques used and the surprises she has for her audience.
As she showcases her series, Spacescapes, at Art and Soul, Mumbai, Sujata Bajaj explores the beauty of this vast universe.
Echoes of the Cosmos:
The name of the exhibition, Spacescapes, is itself where the unique journey starts. “There’s landscapes, there’s seascapes, but spacescapes is a term that I hadn’t seen, and that’s why I thought it would be an interesting title for the collection, given the inspiration,” tells Sujata.
The exhibition fascinates the viewers in an array of abstract paintings, all rooting from her childhood love for the celestial bodies.
“Spacecapes came about as I began to be quite fascinated with images of space that I came across first from a Hubble telescope, then from the James Webb telescope. And there was something about that imagery that represented infinite freedom of color and depth, which got me to exploring an entirely different way of working, different technique, different use of color, and then ultimately resulted in a collection of artworks that draw inspiration from space, and then that’s how we came up with the terminology!”, exclaims Sujata.
The Language of Colours:
What makes an abstract artwork powerful is the harmonious interplay of colours. Renowned for her mastery of vibrant colours balanced with textures, Sujata Bajaj achieved Spacescapes with the magic of fluid work.
She elucidates, “The go-to choice of materials and techniques has to do with the desire to represent fluidity. It was important to me that in this range of work, I have complete freedom with my colors and the flow of the colors. I had to use techniques that allowed for much more fluidity and less control in how the color spreads on the canvas.”
Expanding the Vision:
In the era of rapid digital evolution, contemporary artists are increasingly embracing new mediums. Sujata Bajaj’s launch of her first digital artwork alongside her exhibition, marks a significant leap in her artistic career.
“There wasn’t a plan to go digital but I came across the idea that was presented to me by the founders of New Art X and then when we got to talking we realized it would be a very interesting collaboration for both of us and that’s kind of how it came together. The digital work allows for my vision to go one step forward in terms of actually embodying proper movement and actually having the colors move around to the eye,” Sujata reveals.
For a cherry on the top, Sujata has a marvellous advice for all the budding abstract artists:
“A tip I would give young artists is actually to really focus on honing in on skills related more to colour, composition, line, and really gain a mastery of stroke and composition. And that often comes through non-abstract work. So I think my advice would be to begin with really the classical school of teaching and then get into the abstract.”
