Floral Pursuit in the Art by Meeta Seth
A bunch of a hundred fresh, ravishing red roses. This was a gift, from Meeta Seth, that I will never be able to forget. Receiving a hundred roses, and that too, from a fellow lady, was indeed a humbling, overwhelming experience for me. I was feeling ecstatic! Never did I imagine the prodigious impact that a hundred red roses can have on me.
As simplistic as it may seem, this totally unexpected episode left me feeling speechlessly sentimental. It was a landmark moment for me; the moment whereby I sincerely realised the power of the flower; its innate ability to alter sentient, psychological states of being, within a context that is positive. Indeed, it was therapy in its purest form, which mellifluously extends to the almost metaphysical delineation of flowers on Meeta’s canvas.
At first glance, her recent series of paintings of gleeful, wild flowers effortlessly presents you with the amiable aura of the immensely-celebrated era of European Impressionism; a mood that is contributed by the portrayal of hues that are natal and intense, with strokes that refuse to adhere to a rigid clarity of form. Meeta’s flowers float autonomously, seeming to be comfortably situated somewhere between existence and non-existence; falling within an absolutely neutral state that will tolerate neither negative nor positive elements, like in her recent painting entitled Blue Splendour.
The very blue of the painting legitimises the right of the flowers to challenge the most fundamental elements of Mother Nature. Do the flowers exist in ether? Or do they exist in water? And does this truly matter? Whatever the setting, the three-dimensionality of the technique allows you to ‘listen’ to the chatter between the flowers, projecting a metaphorical communal perspective for the human on-looker. Meeta, with subdued excitement, reveals a profound perspective, ”The spectacular quiet beauty of flowers is what I try to capture on my canvas…a thing of perfection that sprouts out of dirt with its own breathing soul, as an unconditional gift to mankind.”
Singapore-born Meeta has been painting for the last eight years. Having had been trained by significant artists in Singapore and in Melbourne (Australia), art has indeed been a therapeutic journey for her. Meeta loves the unpredictability of oils and enjoys the process of observing the manner in which a painting evolves into a communicative entity.
I am eagerly awaiting my next bunch of a hundred gorgeous flowers from Meeta, in the form of a rendition on her canvas, mirroring the meditative neutrality that petals offer the soul, as Meeta flourishingly continues her a fantastic floral pursuit.
To view paintings by Meeta Seth, visit The Gallery of Gnani Arts at #03-44, Tanglin Shopping Centre, 19 Tanglin Road or browse www.gnaniarts.com.
