Nature moves Dr Simple Mohanty, popular visual artist and Associate Professor at Delhi University, differently. Nature for her is tucked up with marvels, it’s Presence majestic, mystic and all pervading. The trill of parrots & murmurations of rosy starlings lending drama to Delhi’s evening sky, the colours spouted by spring flowers and butterflies, fill her soul and play muse. Every sunset for her is nothing short of magic. It is the richness of emotion that she feels in the midst of Nature that she meditatively pours out on to her canvases.

She has exhibited prolifically in group & solo art shows in Delhi and abroad. She received the Bharat Nirman Make in India Award for excellence in Fine Arts (2018) and won a couple of international contests organised by the Light, Space & Time Online Gallery in 2021. She was the only Indian among the seven shortlisted candidates worldwide for New York-based See me Art Gallery’s collaborative project with Spanish fashion label Mint & Rose called “Art MeetsFashion,” through an online contest held in 2021. Heracrylic painting, titled “Living in the Moment” went on to win the final voting round and was printed on a limited edition of espadrilles by Mint & Rose, apart from winning a cash award. This brought international acclaim her way. Her works are in the possession of private collectors and connoisseurs of art in India and abroad.

She is greatly inspired by the soulful art of Van- Gogh, Monet & Henri Matisse . Off late, her oeuvre has found flight and joy in impressionism wherein she paints flowers & landscapes with fast, loose, strokes and streaks of colour. She is also drawn to the whimsy and bright colours of pop art, which reflect the playful side of her personality and her philosophy of life. Her vibrant colour palette defines her style. Often called “ happy art” by viewers, her paintings exude “joie de vivre” and scream, “Enough of anthropocentrism. Step out and smell the flowers!