Midday, Monday, 5 april 2010, delhi,pg 21
GROWING WITH THE FLOW
Artist Vinita Dasgupta Opens up the window to adolescence, and the view’s far more aesthetic than awkward
By Preetika singh

Growing up is a girls thing. Or so think young artist Vinita Dasgupta, who’s let the most shrouded secret of the female life out in her self-portraits. Adolescence, as some call it, and the mysterious metaporphosis, as philosophers delve. For Vinita, ofcourse, it’s but a journey , worthy of being shared with others. “ I think every girl will see herself in these paintings. They’re like mirror to what we’ve all gone through, she elaborates. Sympathetic connection, sexual desires, greed, ambition, aspiration, jeolousy and love are her objects, and the face of a girl much like herself ,the subject that carries with it these conflicting feelings. “Yes, all girls lead different lives , but one thing is common – they all have their own imaginary worlds ,” Vinita adds, very sure.
It was on her various tours and travels that Vinita interacted with girls from different societal backgrounds and observed different pulses. It took her one-and –a-half year to prove how one’s quest changes into profession. There are 30 paintings , 20 out which are acrylic on canvas and 10 digital. Texts,digital prints and mixed media interplay to create the young restlessness that she plays upon. In addition, there are 10 fashion paintings from her last series. “ I have used bright colours since it’s also the brightest time of one’s life. The theme was decided ,but the arrangements were random.”
As Vinita plays protagonist and helps you search for a lovely, lost part of yourself, she talks about her many works – the one where it’s night time at a red light , or that which reeks of motherhood. Her favourite, however, is the one where she sits all curled up at the thought of terror attacks in the city. Don’t ditto that; go ou and take a look.

Pioneer,Tuesday,6 april 2010,pg 14
Inside out
Artist Vinita Dasgupta has shown the various aspects of a woman and what goes through her mind, says Neha Lal

There are mixed feelings which cloud the mind of every woman or a girl. She expresses some of them, but some are kept hidden within her. For representating these open and closes feelings , artist Vinita Dasgupta
Has displayed her artworks in the exhibition My window shut to open at Art Konsult Gallery.
“In some of the works, I have used my own experiences to paint what a young girl goes through . I got my pictures clicked and later painted them in acrylic colours. My ideas are based on harsh realities . Some of which are my own hidden desires , dreams, thoughts, beliefs and feelings,” says Vinita.
In her work titled Swan song of the Cupid, she has painted the images of two swans who are coupled together and a girl sits alone nearby and observing them. “ Here I have shown what a girl feels when she sees a couple of swans making love. She dreams of meeting the love of her life who would take care of her desires , with whom she could share her feelings,” says Vinita.
In a few of her works , Vinita has brilliantly compared two different women. In Mystic spiel, one woman is feeding the fish and the other is trying to catch them for supper. Then there are others like Contemplative, where the artist has shown her own beliefs. “In this painting , I am sitting in a garden thinking about the dreams, aspirations and ambitions of my life . There are various disturbing elements , telephones and maps, which are trying to distract me, she adds.
She also dwells into the mind of women from the upper class. In Empathetic Connection she tried to represent the lifestyle of married women who are busy in their own world which is full of ostentation. “For giving a meaning to the work, I have painted a woman who is busy dressing herself to look more beautiful and at the same time her child is crying for her attention,” says Vinita. She has also put light on how working women desire to be free from the clutches of time and meeting deadlines. “In The Inward Journey , I have designed a woman taking shape of butterfly who is free Today we generally see housewives , get too busy in their schedule that they have forgotten to enjoy their life. In this painting,the woman wants to move away from the busy life,” says Vinita.
Vinita has very rightly showcased the thoughts , dreams and views of an excort, who in her ideal times is resting and thinking about her past and present . She is recollecting her old memories and the dreams which she made in her past before getting into the business and realises that they would never accomplish now. The exhibition is not only confined to paintings but includes digital work known as mixed media. These works which were designed with the help of various computer softwares and acrylic colours. In all these ,she has used her own images to represent a girl who is giving thoughts to various aspects of her life like her past memories, loved ones ,dreams et al.
The exhibition ends on April 20.