Richa Kashelkar's Art Is Inspired By Goa's Slow & Meaningful Susegad Lifestyle

In 'Notes of a Painter', published in 1908, the French painter and sculptor Henri Matisse wrote that his underlying aim as an artist was to discover the “essential character of things” and to produce art of “balance, purity, and serenity”.

In many ways, Goa-based self-taught painter Richa Kashelkar's work conveys a similar desire to search for balance and serenity. Kashelkar's paintings explore the intersection of beauty and mystery — often through bright, bold colours, strong, visible brush strokes, and solitary figures in distinctive natural and architectural landscapes, infused with an air of wonder and yearning.

Kashelkar's paintings are informed by her background in architecture and photography. "At the core of it, both architecture and painting are inherently about design, composition and spaces," Kashelkar says. "It's about how large or small areas make people feel, what does a sharp line do versus a wobbly one, the presence or absence of texture, etc. There are a lot of parallels. It is essentially about creating an object that makes people feel a particular way. It also helps that domestic spaces are an area of key interest to me, so an education in architecture adds a bit of extra oomph to my perception and appreciation of it."

Indeed, Kashelkar's paintings draw from the distinct nature and architecture of Goa, where she moved long before she began painting. One finds her characters in seemingly old Goan bungalows with arched doors and windows, domes and minarets fading in the distance.

"There was something in Goan culture that pulled me towards it with a sharp and definite lurch," she says. "I could identify with so many aspects of it — the architecture, the music; the eye-watering beauty of it all seduced me immensely. This made me conclude that there was something in me already which resonated with the core aspects of this culture. The susegad vibe as well, which I feel is a great way to spend this life."

Her art stems from a deep appreciation of life — of its natural and man-made wonders. "As clichéd as it sounds, nature is a huge inspiration," Kashelkar says. "Particularly how humans feel in nature. There is a kind of perfection and bliss that we experience in the most bucolic of landscapes, that cannot ever be brought about by manmade things. Apart from nature, there are moments of solitary leisure and contemplation which pull me towards painting them. As well as moments of happiness with friends. An enjoyment of life, essentially."

Recently, she has been experimenting with her style and aesthetic. "It is too soon to say what my inherent style is really," Kashelkar says about her paintings.

"I let myself paint anything that my heart desires, and I know that eventually a beautiful path will emerge. So right now, every new painting is a tentative exploration in a different direction, led by vague hints of desire and intuition. Only in retrospect will I know with clarity, what direction I was moving in in the past," she says.

Currently, the artist says that she is trying out anything that catches her fancy. "This is a privilege I can afford since I am choosing not to show in galleries, which might involuntarily add a certain pressure to work on a coherent series," she explains. "That is not to say that I don't ever want to work in a series, but I want it to happen by itself, organically. That is when it'll be brimming with authenticity and excitement. Right now, I'm just exploring the vast topic of the poignant beauty of life itself. With each new piece being sometimes radically different than the previous!"

About the artist:

Richa Kashelkar is an artist based in Goa, India. Her work stems from a deep appreciation of life — it is a celebration of, and an ode to the human experience. Follow her here.

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