NOTHING CAN compel Rameshwar Broota to paint, for he believes that only when he has something to say, will he put his brush to canvas. In a creative career spanning five decades, Broota has painted no more than seven paintings a year and when he is immersed in photography, Broota doesn’t paint for long periods. “There can be no compromises on aesthetics, honesty and freedom of thought,” reflects Broota, here on the invitation of the Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi for a lecture-and-slide show of his paintings and photographs.
The presentation on Saturday evening brought the audience closer to Delhi-based Broota’s body of work, a journey that resounds with deep thought, philosophy and experimentation with form, technique, colours and textures. Art came to Broota early on in life, as he looked at his two older brothers draw and create art which had a deep impact on him. “They were brilliant and should have been artists. Instead, I took up art,” smiles the painter, recalling how he would draw all the time, instead of doing his school work, a passion that continued in college.
