A Spanish odyssey

Travel always inspires art. But what is needed is an observant eye,” said internationally acclaimed artist and muralist Rouble Nagi. Taking a leaf out of her trip to Spain, the artist created paintings and sculptures inspired by the country’s folk dance form — flamenco — which is a blend of song, dance and guitar.

“Folk art has stories from politics and history to humour and love. I was inspired by the music-art combination of this form along with the beautiful and graceful postures that the dance aspect entails. So, I decided to do a series on this aspect of Spain,” mentioned Nagi, who has created over 800 murals, and held more than 150 exhibitions worldwide.

Nagi’s sculptures depict the different postures of flamenco dancers while her acrylic on canvas depicts the various “emotions, expressions and movements” of the three forms of flamenco — Cante; the song, Baile; the dance, and Guitarra; guitar. “This folk dance, where song, dance and guitar are blended into passionate rhythms which are often improvised, depicts a sense of independence, which is what I have shown on my canvas using bold strokes and bright hues,” Nagi told Metrolife.

With ‘Flamenco’, which comprises 22 abstracts, six sculptures in fibre glass and six small table sculptures in metal and fibre, Nagi became the first artist to showcase her collection at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Museum’s newly opened art gallery. “In a discussion with friends, I got to know about the gallery opening, and I had applied for exhibiting my collection. During the process, Lalit Kala Akademi also recommended me. It’s a matter of pride to have exhibited at Rashtrapati Bhavan,” shared Nagi.

“I also presented a painting to President Pranab Mukherjee on his visit to the museum,” added Nagi, sharing that the exhibition will also travel to Mumbai, Bengaluru, London and Singapore.

This is Nagi’s third exhibition in her decade-long career. “I don’t paint every year. I had my last series ‘Strokes of Strength’ in 2012-13, which I painted during my pregnancy. My passion lies in mural and sculpture making, and three-dimensional objects that can be felt. I paint only when I feel inspired and that is why I exhibit once in every three to four years,” she said, adding, “It’s not that I am a lazy artist but I believe each piece should come from one’s heart, and that takes time.”

Though Nagi started painting at an early age, she took it up professionally only from 2003. And in the first six months, she shifted focus from paintings to murals and installations. “During the initial phase, I hardly created anything as I only did what my clients wanted. I started with four mediums but being experimental, today I work with 38 different mediums,” she pointed out.