Trishla Jain calls her style ‘found art.’ Dev Goswami finds out about her exhibition
Trishla Jain is relatively new on the art scene having debuted just two years ago at Delhi with her exhibition That Freshness. Her new collection titled Tangerine Trees and Marmalade Skies, is currently being exhibited at BMB Gallery and features much more than just canvas paintings. You’ll find colourful and playful dressers, sofas and even a child's rocking horse. We get talking to her about her love for art and why some of her paintings feature quotes.
You have been painting since the age of seven but had your first solo exhibition just two years ago. What took you so long to exhibit?
I have always had a love of colour and a poet’s love of words. I studied English literature, poetry, psychology and anthropology at Stanford. I then taught in New York. When I returned to India, I started painting again. For me, painting is writing, movie-making, song writing and chai-chatting all rolled into one. My husband Satyan often remarks that I resemble a construction worker by the end of the day. So, art and poetry came together in my life in an unexpected way in my first solo show in 2010.
Looking at your paintings, it is hard pinpoint a style. What would you describe your style as?
My art is born from a technique I call ‘found art.’ Picasso once said, ‘Great artists steal.’ So, anything is fair game — rap lyrics, vintage sunglasses, the back of a milk carton or even an old discarded telephone. The heart lies in bringing the elements together to tell a whole new story, in a whole new way.
A few of your paintings have quotes inscribed on them. What’s the reason behind this?
Literature and the written word are in my blood. I am obsessed with authors Mark Haddon, Oscar Wilde, Rumi and Shel Silverstein. In my first exhibition, the paintings were accompanied by text. Now, the text has infiltrated the canvas in most of my works.
From objects such as desks, chairs and wooden horses to canvasses, you are comfortable painting on anything. Where does this come from?
Art does not limit itself to paintings on a canvas. My art is a reflection of my own inquiring, eclectic mind and evolving experiences, which sometimes translates to the canvas, sometimes furniture and at times, installations.
You are sitting and gazing out at the road with a blank canvas in front of you — what would be the things that would inspire you to paint?
I draw inspiration from everyday objects. My art celebrates the universe’s capacity for joy and laughter. Both the ephemeral wink of the present moment and the depths of cosmic consciousness can be formed within the layers of my work. So, whatever my eye fancies at that point may make its way onto my canvas.