ABOUT

Rupa's Tale

Background and Education

Rupa Natarajan, born in Varanasi, India, grew up inspired by the writings of Tagore. She was able to channel her interest in literature and arts through her early tutoring in watercolours under the very well-known artist, Robin Mukerjee. During that time Rupa’s avid interest in reading and aesthetics were formulated and she used art as a means of expressing her imagination and passion.

Through a combination of persistence, talent and desire, she was accepted into the Government College of Art in Calcutta. She was one of only three women selected to enter Art College for the first time, paving the way for women artists in West Bengal. At the Government College of Art in Calcutta she refined her skills under the guidance of notable Indian artists including Satyan Ghoshal, Gopal Gosh, Chintamoni Kar and Raithin Mitra.  She was also awarded scholarships as ‘’Outstanding Student of the Year” for three consecutive years while there.

Not satisfied to learn art from only an Indian perspective, she expanded and rounded her formal art training through a two-year period at the New York School of Interior Design. At the Design School she gained a strong appreciation for balance, lighting and the importance of symmetry.

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Career Overview

Her vast career has spanned over 40 years, during which she has sought to innovate and push her artistic capabilities whenever possible. While she focused predominantly on oil paintings and watercolours, the means in which she approaches her paintings has continually changed. These changes include her innovative use of the palette knife, her surreal representation of images in her watercolours and her ability to capture the true essence of a person through her portraits. Furthermore, she is accomplished at designing and creating stained glass images, yet another artistic skill she acquired while living in Hong Kong.

Rupa’s paintings have been appreciated by patrons around the world, as reflected by her numerous exhibitions and commissioned works. Her early exhibitions focused on the Indian Subcontinent including Calcutta, Delhi and Madras. Over the past 20 years, her works have been exhibited in Pastiche Gallery, London; Art Encounter Gallery, Las Vegas; Agora Gallery, New York. In Singapore, she has had over six exhibitions.

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In Singapore her work remains on display at the Singapore President’s Palace and as a collection acquired by the National Gallery.  Her advisory roles at the National Gallery Children’s Art Programs, the National Library Art Programs, the Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society and the Nanyang Arts Council have built her reputation as a strong supporter of art in Singapore.  Additionally, she was a member of a Government panel to upgrade arts in Singapore.

T. Sasitharan of The Straits Times, Singapore notes, “Natarajan’s work provides a silver lining. Her Fisherman At Work and Musicians, executed in oil applied with a palette knife, are vigorously worked, considered compositions. The artist’s technique affords the pieces a pleasing sense of rhythm and movement.” 

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Creative Process 

Rupa spends much of her time studying shapes and patterns in people’s faces, their gestures, movements, and recreating them through the use of line and texture. She believes that emotion is conveyed through the tilt of the head, weight of the torso, slouch of the shoulders, movement of the hands as they engage in their day-to-day lives. She does the same with wildlife.  To her there always feels the need for a strong, specific environment where life is occurring, thereby creating a sense of balance and order.

According to Rupa:

“I strive to create visual and spiritual harmony and simplicity. I sketch furiously during my travels, think intensely about the images, and it is only after time that I build a composition of perceptions in my mind which embellishes and links people and places, be they musicians or dancers, runners or fisherman, in India, Europe or the U.S.A.”

Her most well-known and admired technique is the use of a palette knife in her oil paintings, through which she is able to imaginatively bring together colours and images of people and places. Similarly, she has been spending several years refining and advancing her techniques in watercolours, to present extremely dynamic images.

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