In abstract painting, “sensibility” often manifests as intuition, emotion, and an artist’s responsiveness to materials. The behaviour of paint—its tendency to drip, stain, or resist control—becomes an active force in the creative process. Artists like Dipa Patowary, who embrace unconventional materials such as cotton and fabric, lean deeply into this sensibility. Rather than forcing the medium to conform to a preconceived idea, she allows it to participate in the formation of the artwork.
Senior artist Hemraj lighting the lamp
Her solo exhibition Sense and Sensibility opened on 24 April 2026 at Triveni Gallery, Triveni Kala Sangam, New Delhi. The exhibition is organised by Elke & Bose and curated by Johny ML and will continue until 3 May 2026.
Dipa Patowary with Sanjay Roy, Rameshwar Broota, Smar Shridharni and Lilt Suri
On the other hand, “sense” in her paintings emerges as an underlying logic, even when the work appears spontaneous or chaotic. A subtle order unfolds through compositional balance, rhythm, contrast, and repetition. Even the most intuitive gestures are guided by decisions—where to place visual weight, how colors interact, and when to bring a work to completion.
Dipa Patowary’s use of cotton and cloth combined with oil paint lends her works a soft yet enigmatic quality. She applies these materials across the canvas in diagonal compositions, often leaving sections intentionally empty. These voids suggest the emotional and psychological absences that shape human experience. In contrast, the active areas are filled with lyrical abstract patterns, where tonal shifts between light and dark, along with contrasting colours, create depth and movement.
Her practice privileges sensibility over rigid sense. While viewers often search for fixed meanings in abstract art, Dipa’s work invites an engagement with spontaneity—a reflection on existence and the fluid nature of meaning. By working with unconventional materials, she negotiates the balance between control and unpredictability, echoing the instability of life through texture and form.
Here, “sense” shifts from controlling outcomes to curating accidents—selecting and refining unexpected results. Her work achieves a delicate equilibrium: allowing materials to speak without overwhelming the composition, embracing chance while recognising significance, and building structure without restricting expressive freedom.
The opening ceremony was attended by senior artists Rameshwar Broota, Hemraj, Sanjay Roy, Dr Ved Prakash Bhardwaj, Yasmin Sultana, Vandana Dubey, Surjit Kumar, and Lalit Bhatta, along with gallerist Amar Shridharani. The event also saw the presence of curator Johny ML and Lalit Suri, alongside fellow artists and art enthusiasts.
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