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PAINTER Ella Prakash who stole the hearts of F1 fans with a collection of work to promote the grand prix in Bahrain, aims to champion the role of women through her latest expressive art collection, which will be showcased at one of the UK’s top galleries.
The Bahrain-based Indian artist’s solo exhibition, entitled The Alleviation, will feature 18 new acrylic canvases at the award-winning Debut Contemporary in London’s trendy Notting Hill starting on Friday.
Ella is thrilled at the opportunity and said: “Debut is the world’s leading art incubator and accelerator with the aim of assisting ambitious and talented artists to become successful, not just in London but globally.
“Its founder and CEO, Samir Ceric, has been acting as my mentor and coach for the past 18 months, helping me to push my art and my business as far as I can.
“I was invited to do my solo exhibition to showcase what my art is about and the message behind it to some of London’s leading curators, collectors and critics.
“I’m very excited about this chance as such opportunities do not come very often in one’s career. To have the support, infrastructure and belief in you and your work is a huge blessing and a huge boost of confidence and I am looking forward to the show and an ongoing relationship with Debut which has helped shape my recent career.
“I have been working very hard on it and when I spoke to Samir, he encouraged me to be as bold and ambitious as I wanted to be. I will showcase some of the largest works I’ve ever created and I’m incredibly proud of my latest collection.”
Driven by a passion to empower women through art, the 52-year-old from Segaiya has exhibited various works in the past depicting strength and beauty. According to Ella, her new series which boasts ethereal figures as well as geometric lines and shapes, is a visual representation of women, from different walks of life, overcoming major obstacles.
She added: “From a young age until now, I have experienced and have seen women from all walks of life tested time and time again, not just by their natural being but by the many roles they undertake.
“The Alleviation Collection talks about every woman’s personal journey of finding inner peace and relief making her stronger.
“I see myself as somebody who wants to empower women all over the world, no matter what they do.
“It is my calling, my mission and my ambition. And that is where Debut and I are alike. Their ambition is to empower artists to achieve their goals and dreams, while I am very passionate about doing my part to help them in any way that I can.”
The collection displays a blend of warm and bold colours meticulously contained in calculated strokes that offer a sense of illusory realism. The anatomies of the abstract figures contrasted with geometric shapes are Ella’s signature symbols for the vibrant, ever-changing self.
She said: “Never before had I focused so closely on the medium of painting, which seems almost like liberation, opening up the potential to give the issue of form, background, space, areas and lines a new level of intense dynamism.
“With my current abstract series, I have challenged myself to unlearn the pattern of control sought in representation; thus, reinventing the language of anatomy, chiaroscuro – Italian for strong contrast between light and dark – and storytelling paintings which are distinctive for their with bold strokes and vibrant colours.
“They record on both micro- and macroscopic dimensions in exploration with a new language that frees and welcomes viewers’ contemplation.”
Debut Contemporary recently won the prestigious h.Club 100 Industry Award, being selected as one of the UK’s top 10 most influential, visionary and pioneering businesses in art and design, competing alongside the likes of TATE, V&A, the Fine Art Society and Turner Prize winners and nominees.
This will not be the first time Ella has captivated art lovers as she has featured her work in various exhibitions in Bahrain and around the world, including the US, Germany, India and the UK.
For example, she has participated in the New York Art Expo, in the Nina Torres Fine Art Exhibition in Miami, at the Brick Lane Gallery in London and at the Tads Art Gallery in Delhi, to name a few.
She is still remembered today for her work in 2005 involving the F1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix. She was commissioned by the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) and Yalla! Bahrain to create 10 paintings in 10 days from three different venues.
Her London-based supporter, Samir, believes that she has grown over the years. He said: “This is important for every artist. Her signature is clearly legible in these works. In a very loose form, they show the visual codes that she has developed in her paintings over the past years. These works are immediate, expressive and at the same time fascinatingly calculated, creating unique dreamscapes which reflect the artist’s personal dynamism.”
Ella’s exhibition will run until Monday, and after London, she will be returning to the US for the Art Expo New York and also has upcoming shows in Italy and India.
Her paintings range in size from 80cmx100cm to 180cmx160cm and are priced from £2,000 (BD1,114) - £5,000 (BD2,783). Her most popular sizes are around 100cmx140cm and they are priced around £4,000 (BD2,226).
Anyone interested in purchasing or viewing her work can visit: https://www.debutcontemporary.com/artists/ella-prakash/#.VRkjCvmUe
* For details, contact Ella on 39073299, email info@ellagallery.com or visit www.ellagallery.com
