-By Dr Ved Prakash Bhardwaj
Memories of cities lie at the heart of Smitaa V Jain’s artistic practice. The cities she has encountered during her travels in India and abroad, along with their architecture and visual character, find a new expression on her canvases. In her paintings, cities do not appear in recognisable forms; instead, their imprints, preserved in memory, emerge through abstract forms, colours and textures. Although everyday urban life is not depicted directly, its presence is subtly felt in the compositions and colour schemes of her works.
Her solo exhibition, Elsewhere, presented by Elke & Bose, curatorial advisor Johny ML, opened on 25 October 2026 at the Triveni gallery of Triveni Kala Sangam, New Delhi, features her recent paintings. These works bring to the surface the cities that reside within the artist, allowing them to emerge with a renewed aura. These are not merely places encountered during travel; they are visual experiences that have gradually become part of the artist’s inner world. Their re-creation on canvas is not an attempt at realistic representation but an exploration of how a place can be revisited and experienced through memory. The exhibition continues till 4th November 2026.
Smita is an active member of the ‘Quartz Collective’, a group of women artists. I have met her several times and discussed her art with her. It has always been fascinating to see how she breathes new life into the memories of her travels through her work. This exhibition brings this aspect of her art to the fore in a compelling way.
A large number of artists and art enthusiasts were present at the opening of the exhibition, including Lalit Suri of Elke & Bose, curator Johnny ML, artist- curator Anoop Kamath, artists Ritu Kamath, Ritu Singh Panday, Nitasha Jaini, Rogini Sinha, Sanju Das, and Shikha Gupta.
An important aspect of Jain’s artistic language is her use of colour and texture. Multiple layers of colour lend depth to her paintings. Hues peeping through these layers arouse curiosity, inviting viewers to explore the forms concealed within the compositions. At times, colours emerge distinctly; at others, they recede beneath successive layers, creating a visual rhythm in which nothing is entirely revealed. This sense of partial disclosure adds to the intrigue and appeal of her works.
The use of texture in these paintings goes beyond the embellishment of the surface. It contributes to the underlying structure and meaning of each composition. The varied textures evoke memories of architecture. In some works, they suggest walls, old buildings and the marks left by time; in others, they evoke the complex fabric of a city through abstract forms. Colour and texture thus come together to create a distinctive visual language in which a city is recognised not through clearly defined forms, but through its atmosphere and the sensations it evokes.
In some of the paintings in the exhibition, the urban fabric emerges from beneath layers of colour like a mystery waiting to be unravelled. Viewers catch glimpses of a particular place or architectural form, yet the paintings resist any single, definitive interpretation. The forms concealed within them acquire new meanings through the individual memories and experiences of those who encounter them. This is one of the enduring possibilities of abstract art: rather than merely explaining an image, it invites us to experience it.
The relationship between travel and memory is another compelling aspect of Jain’s work. Cities may be left behind at the end of a journey, but their images, colours and architectural impressions continue to linger in the mind. The artist transforms these experiences into visual expressions on canvas. In the process, cities move beyond their external geography to become part of an inner landscape. They travel with the artist, reappearing in ever-changing forms through layers of colour and texture.
The exhibition invites viewers to reflect not only on the experience of seeing a city but also on the ways in which it is remembered. Smitaa V Jain’s abstract paintings do not seek to document cities; instead, they preserve their memories, structures and atmospheres within layers of colour. In her works, cities are felt more than they are seen—and perhaps this is the most compelling aspect of her art.
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