Sackville artist Indu Varma wanted to bring a piece of Canada to her native India, so she’s showing 13 of her mix-media paintings in Jaipur, a city in India’s western province of Rajasthan.
Taking inspiration from New Brunswick’s natural beauty in places like the Bay of Fundy and Tantramar Marsh, Varma said she employs multiple techniques using different media to add depth her paintings.
The Canadian Vistas exhibition at the Kalaneri Art Gallery is a sequel to her previous exhibition, Canadian Landscapes, shown at the same venue in 2019.
“India is my first home,” Varma said in an interview from Jaipur. “Canada is my second home. It’s a country that I chose. That’s where I live and I’m a passionate Canadian. So I wanted to share the beautiful country where I live and where I’ve lived for over five decades … with the people of Jaipur, people of India.
“I still have [a] strong connection.”
Varma was born in India and lived in Jaipur. She moved to Canada in 1969 and has been a resident of Sackville for more than five decades.
After retiring from a 37-year career in education, she earned a bachelor’s degree in visual arts from the University of Moncton in 2016. Since then she has devoted her time to her art.
Varma said all 13 paintings in Jaipur were inspired by what she saw in and around Sackville: migratory birds, sailboats, fishing villages, fall colours, melting ice, the Fundy coast, hockey and Canada geese.
Artist Indu Varma immigrated from India to Sackville 54 years ago. And her latest exhibit at Jaipur’s Kalaneri Art Gallery brings Atlantic Canada’s landscape to the place she still calls home.
“It is like living in the moment, living in now,” she said “There are so many lessons we can learn from birds, from plants, from animals, and that’s what really inspires me.”
Varma said many who have seen her art in Jaipur have expressed a desire to visit Canada and witness the beauty first hand.
“Some have visited Canada, and they said that the paintings made them relive their time in Canada,” she said. And those who haven’t been to Canada felt … they would love to see natural beauty and reality,” she said.
Saumya Sharma, founder of Kalaneri Art Gallery, said she was excited to host Varma for the second time because her art has a local audience.
She said Jaipurites have an interest in art depicting beautiful landscapes, and they often decorate their houses and workplaces with such paintings.
“We as a gallerist are observing the transition period of the new generation, which is getting the exposure of the world and they are travelling … they love to now explore the new mediums, the new artists in their own city.”
According to Sharma, the common feedback from many senior artists who have visited the gallery was that Varma’s new collection depicted more meaningful strokes and professional maturity in her technique and use of colour.
More than 60 people visited the exhibition over the weekend and many described it as “calming,” Sharma said. Several inquired about buying paintings.
“Yes, Jaipurites are loving her beautiful colours of her landscapes,” said Sharma, whose gallery has also hosted artists from other countries, including Italy and Germany.
Sharma said the future of Varma’s paintings will be decided after a conversation with the artist. Varma acknowledged it would be difficult to carry all the originals back to Sackville but she will make a decision based on demand.