Spirit of the Horse was the theme of an exhibition of artworks on horses by Sujata Dere recently held at Galerie Romain Rolland, Alliance Francais. There were 19 frames depicting various postures and movements brilliantly portraying equine energy and grace. With two versions of titles Born Free, Free Spirit and Greywind, the rest were titled Wind Song, Romeo & Juliet, Dream Catcher, Moonshine, Lord of the Dance, Amour, Harmony, Snowflake, Winsome, Sweet Melody, Lone Ranger, Rolling Thunder and Black Charger.
Inspired to draw since her early teens, she began with pencil sketches of faces and over the years enhanced her repertoire to include charcoal, stippling, pastels and mixed media — her medium for these horses. Graduating from Sir J.J. School of Art, Mumbai in 1979, Dere originally trained in ceramics and held several exhibitions in Delhi, in the early 1980s and received an enthusiastic response. The 1990s saw her develop an unusual technique called “stippling”—a form of pointillism, rendered with pen and ink. She created stark images in black and white, softened by the interplay of light; the nadditional use of conte crayons added warmth and tone, resulting in a uniquely refreshing style. In the next decade, Dere developed a genre that bore the unmistakable stamp of her individuality. With her recent display, she has notched 10 solo and 26 group exhibitions in Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur, Chandigarh, US, UK, Dubai and Bangladesh. Her works have won both critical and popular acclaim.
Being the daughter of former vice-chief of army staff Lt Gen Hriday Kaul, commissioned in 2nd Lancers and married to Brigadier Anil Dere, also of the Armoured Corps, she was no stranger to horses, but it was her stay in the early 1990s at Wellington in the Nilgiri Hills, where she was swept by an overpowering urge to feel the exhilaration experienced by riders as they galloped across the Ooty Downs bracing against the wind. That is when she learnt horse-riding and thus began her intense involvement with horses resulting in the series she named Spirit of the Horse. She explains: “My drawings are about creating the essence of power and strength of the horse by using a dynamic energy through the creative process. I use abstraction and ‘gestalt’ to create an equine figure that moves with gestural energy on the painted surface. I work in mixed media, using layers of dry and wet materials because the openness of the process lends itself to the innate energy, which I see as the essence of the spirit of the horse. My goal is not to draw the horse as it is, in a defined way, rather, I draw my horses as how they register in my mind as powerful, muscular, free and poetic beings. I am drawn to the dynamic presence of the horse in history and in contemporary life. Embodying all that is instinctual and intuitive; Horses speak to that part of our souls that long for a connection with nature, with something larger and wiser than ourselves….Everything I draw comes from my own experiences, one way or the other. I am forever drawing on the sense of mystery and wonder… and possibility that pervades at times in my life.”
Inaugurating the event, was Dr Karan Singh, an old family friend of Gen Kaul, who praised both the horse as one of the finest of animals domesticated by man and work of the artist. Formerly Yuvraj (prince) of Jammu and Kashmir, which as a kingdom maintained a cavalry regiment, Dr Singh and his sons actively involved in polo, maintain a stable of horses/polo ponies.