Essentialism through realism in conversation with Shobha Broota
Indira Lakshmi Prasad

“Much is achieved when I live in silence. My work is a journey in search of my own self. It is the experience of space, color, expanse and movement, through which I travel into this mystical world. My work is geared towards a silent inner communication.” – Shobha Broota


Shobha Broota, born 1943, Delhi, is perhaps best known for her works of extreme minimalism, however behind her lies a journey which led her from a practice steeped in realism and portraiture to a profound process of self discovery through material experimentation. In the beginning her practice was truly multi-disciplinary, as well as visual arts, she was also trained in classical singing and dancing, having received her Sangeet Visharad, Masters in vocal Indian classical Music in 1962. And after graduation she spent her formative years pursuing portraiture which marked the beginning of an organic progression of experimentation with colour and form.



As well as the traditional format of painting, Shobha Broota has also created numerous textile works using wool and thread. She takes these everyday materials associated with daily feminine craft, and completely metamorphoses the context in which they are perceived. In a process which she refers to as ‘extraction’ rather than ‘abstraction’ she strips away layers of existence in a process which has taken her years to form, and her journey is ever augmenting, as she herself evolves.

Interview IP:
As I was researching your work, there was one quote which interested me; “childhood became a string connecting me to essentialism through realism” so by way of introduction I’d like to hear more about this concept, and what it means to you in the context of your work. Can you tell me about the beginnings of your art practice?

SB : I have been interested in art right from childhood, my parents and my school encouraged me to paint and pursue arts. I was one of the best in my school, so they naturally pushed me towards arts. I did dancing, painting, music all simultaneously, which introduced me to the sensitivity of artistic realm. For me there was no pressure in terms of what I should be doing, I was freely doing what I chose to pursue. When I finished secondary school you’re supposed to decide on a career path, and my choice was art.

IP: And you knew that from very
early childhood?


SB: Yes…yes.

I.P: Was the change towards minimalism a deliberate one? Or was it more of an organic process?

SB : It was an organic process. I never set a goal for it, because at the time I didn’t know what was minimalism and what was abstraction – you don’t know at that age, you’re just painting whatever you’re supposed to be painting at college be it life drawing, still life’s or portraits… Composition also came from the sketches which you made here and there.

"was very good at portraiture when I graduated from college, I would take models and make portraits. My first exhibition was almost a year after I left college in 1964, and I was teaching alongside this. Actually, even before my college results were released I was already teaching!"

IP: The term you used ‘essentialism’ is really interesting for me, I’ve not really heard art being spoken about in that context. It’s usually a term used in a philosophical or metaphysical sense. What does the term mean for you in the context of your work?



SB: As I told you, in the beginning you do all kinds of work with all kinds of mediums in college. I was someone who could grasp the work
I was making. But after college I was really puzzled and would ask myself; what is art? How do I continue to go about making work? It was a strange kind of feeling inside me where I knew how to paint, but I didn’t know what to do with myself, and how to proceed. It was a complex situation.

I was very good at portraiture when I graduated from college, I would take models and make portraits. My first exhibition was almost a year after I left college in 1964, and I was teaching alongside this. Actually, even before my college results were released I was already teaching!

Gradually, after my first exhibition I knew that I could make quality portraits and could easily get commission work, but this was not the end of art for me. There was more I could do with the knowledge I have. So from the portraiture itself, the application of colour with oils on canvas, and the preparation of the canvas, all of this started having a meaning to me. So I used to experiment through portraiture, in a sense that the form was the same, but the application of colour became a experimental process. From there somehow I got into minimizing the effect of the form and being more interested in the application of colours. It was a natural process for me, I didn’t learn the art of minimalism from anywhere. When I was painting I could feel the essence of the brush strokes and colours rather than feeling the essence of the nose, mouth and eyes of the portrait. The head itself became an area of experimentation with colour.

"Yes, life is a process with no fragmentation, it exists as one whole. There are ups and downs in life in various areas and you’re always trying to build something out of it. Changes come about emotionally and otherwise… and I go by my intuitive process. I don’t think about sales, I’m thinking; how will I get joy out of this? And where will I stop? It’s a discovery."