22.12.2023
Exhibition of paintings by Suchitra Kumari at the IRMT
On December 22, 2023, an exhibition of paintings by Suchitra Kumari opened at the International Roerich Memorial Trust in India. The exhibition was opened by Suresh Kumar, Indian Curator of IRMT and Valentina Vinogradova, assistant of Russian Curator of the IRMT.
India is home to a host of internationally renowned artists. Some of the most successful and innovative artists in India today are women. They address a wide range of genres and themes in their paintings. The heroine of today's story is an exemplary phenomenon for contemporary Indian culture.
Suchitra Kumari is an artist with an unusual destiny. She is a retired Lieutenant Colonel who served in the Indian Army for thirty-five years. She became interested in painting in 2007, but it took her a long time to find time out of her busy army schedule and duties. However, she continued to paint and has painted about sixty canvases using oil, acrylics and mixed media. Suchitra Kumari retired in 2022 and devoted herself entirely to painting. The artist hails from Delhi but "decided to settle in the mountains to follow in the footsteps of Nicholas Roerich."
Kumari's works are fascinating stories open to free interpretation by the viewer.
The relationship between the lovers is shown by the artist in the context of their relationship with nature and the universe, and is philosophically realized. Their figures, woven together like trees, become part of and the basis of nature, they carry their feelings intact through the fleeting flow of time. Thus, in the work with the eloquent title "Faith that Protects" their images become united in the face of the world. In the painting "Wish" – a couple illuminated by a stream of light pouring from the sky – the unity of two souls in love, the ties of which are inseparable on earth and in other worlds, is represented in this way.
The main theme of her work is Love and the image of the feminine and its role on earth. In one of the works, the goddess Parvati, a fearless and beautiful warrior at the same time, in a swift dance represents cosmic balance, saving the world from impending chaos. Here is a comment on another portrait of a woman: "In her eyes you can see the strength gained by overcoming suffering."
On another canvas – a profound image of the soul, breaking out of the cage to freedom and finding its spiritual path to the light, but it is narrow and difficult – it is a burden and blessing of freedom. The images of saints are also unusual: one of Kumari’s paintings depicts Chanakya, who was a famous ascetic and sage who stood at the origins of the Mauryan Empire, which united a large part of India for the first time in history. It is a glimpse from eternity – centuries later, a string of people reach out to him.
The painting of Suchitra Kumari is a bright phenomenon in the modern culture of India. It combines the depth of philosophical thought, subtle sense of beauty, charm, warmth and tenderness, a special sense of wholeness and harmony, connection with life, inherent in art created by a woman.
Helena Roerich, an outstanding philosopher, noted: "There are characteristic features of each beginning, and this creates all the beauty of life. And these features must be revealed in all their power, then the saving beauty of romanticism and heroism will awaken again in the spirit. <...> A woman who knows her high purpose, a woman striving for beauty, for knowledge, will highly raise the standard of living of the country."
