Thread Bare

It’s not just discreet paisley patterns sewn with needle and thread that surface in Gopika Nath’s works at her exhibition — “Drawn with Thread”,a collection of 22 hand drawn thread works at Greater Kailash’s newly opened Gallery Seven Art Limited. Nath,a Fulbright scholar,has wreathed many a sumptuous figure on thin chiffon or organza,and has been sewing since 1976. Her vivid imagination shows up when you gaze at her strangely moving drawings,interestingly described as dysfunctional. “It’s not something that happened overnight,” says artist Gopika Nath from her Gurgaon home.

The works mounted on wooden frames or hung between the rods are a departure from the ponderous poses typified in the flattering works. The Crosses I must bear on a dark background is a sort of uncouth rendering of the classical dance form,while There Will Always Be Shades of Grey exposes the bareness of the form,the figure stretched against a vapid grey background. Meanwhile,Urban Tandava in bright red is a wholesome depiction of the world at large. “There is a sense of discomfort in the dance that I have depicted. It is unlike the beautiful forms one sees onstage,” says Nath. The choice of the medium,fragile organza and chiffon paired with roughly hewn cotton, accentuates the fragility. The works begin at Rs 10,000 and go up to Rs 2 lakh.

The exhibition is on till March 13. Contact 26447972