New Delhi, April 05: She may have been a hardnosed bureaucrat for close to four decades going through the stress of work in key positions but the artist in Sudha Pillai, an IAS officer, has always remained alive, drawing landscapes, faces of women and much more.
The painter in Pillai, an outstanding IAS officer and the member-Secretary of Planning Commission with the rank of union minister, came out in full bloom at an exhibition of her work now on at an art gallery here.
The exhibition, featuring 37 of her paintings evocatively brings out in beautiful colours the subjects of Pillai – “Mumbai at 7am,” “Autumn In the Black Forest,” “The Advent of Spring-Geneva,” “Paris by Night” or “Blushing Maidens” among others.
An overwhelming majority of her works are on ceramic tiles—26 of them to be precise but one can also see Pillai’s mastery of paper media, synthetic fabric and Pune silk, khadi shawl and rice paper and canvass to express her skills.
What instantly attracts the viewers is the restrained use of colour in the paintings highly evocative but not garish and just the way one would want to seek.
Sudha Pillai’s paintings of women in “Mother and Daughter” and “Blushing Women” — drew appreciation from French Ambassador to India Jerome Bonafont who said at the inauguration of the exhibition here recently that “most of the faces
of her paintings are of women, very serene faces”. Speaking later, the painter agreed with Bonafont’s view. Like many others present at the inauguration, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit was surprised by the artistic side of a seasoned bureaucrat. And all agreed with Dikshit when she said Pillai’s “paintings are reflective of life and nature”.
Kapila Vatsyayan, eminent scholar of arts, says “I’m deeply moved by the spirit of Sudha Pillai’s works and her command over different mediums of paintings. “This speaks a lot of her artistic skill”, Vatsyayan adds.
According to Pillai, she has chosen that are of direct concern and relevance to her. “My paintings celebrate life in its infinite manifestations and in creation and creativity”.
–Agencies