Automotive art is a relatively niche field that has a few artists in India. To that end, it is quite impressive that one of them is self-taught artist, Vidita Singh. Hailing from the royal family of Barwani, an erstwhile royal kingdom in Madhya Pradesh, Vidita grew up in a family of automotive enthusiasts who instilled in her a deep appreciation and love for cars.
Vidita has now brought her vintage paintings to Mumbai for the first time. The Automotive Art Exhibition, an ongoing exhibition at the India Fine Art Gallery in Mumbai brings some of her latest work to art lovers. Several oil paintings, charcoal drawings and watercolour paintings adorn the walls, with a marked focus on vintage and classic cars. Her paintings depict classic cars against backdrops most appropriate for those glory days.
A few striking paintings shown at the exhibition include Cadillac Speeding which features a 1954 Cadillac Eldorado on a sunny day cruising on a road flanked with lush greenery. Motion has been captured beautifully in this painting, with the greenery reduced to a blur, and the driver’s face obscure as he seems to whisk by.
Another impressive oil-on-canvas is the Jodhpur Delahaye. A personal favourite of the artist, this painting is a tight crop of the car’s front, viewed obliquely. This angle allowed her to capture the most striking essence of its beauty – the tight radius curves. The gleam of the chrome, something also visible in Cadillac Speeding, seems to be something Vidita specialises in.
Lancia at a Polo Match is a painting that shows a classic Lancia in a polo field dotted with players on horseback. The painting is reminiscent of days of yore, when princes would drive to polo matches and park their bespoke cars on the sidelines of the resplendent turf. The intricate detailing of the Lancia’s dash is something to look out for.
This is Vidita’s first solo show in the city of Mumbai, and it is surely attracting crowds. The exhibition which opened on March 31, 2016 at the India Fine Art Gallery will be on until April 5. You can check out more of her work on www.viditasingh.com