Sheetal Gattani is an abstractionist, known for her evocative, process-driven works. Trained at the Sir JJ School of Art, her practice reflects a deep engagement with notions of formlessness, layering, and materiality. Gattani’s earthy, minimalist paintings, often devoid of discernible motifs, offer introspection through their depth and quietude. Initially working on black paper with watercolours, she later transitioned to acrylic on canvas, expanding her scale and integrating subtle geometric reveries. Her meticulous layering process reveals a rhythm of textures and colours, exploring time and memory. Gattani’s works embody meditative focus and challenge conventional perceptions of form and attention. She lives and works in Mumbai, India.
SP: Your paintings evoke a profound sense of quiet and introspection. How do you maintain this meditative quality in your art, and what influenced your unique style?
SG: My painting goes through layers and layers of paint… it’s a slow, time-consuming, and laborious process — for the simple reason that I love that labouring! It helps me center myself, gradually drawing me into a zone of being “present”— no memory. I think it’s the process that evokes the meditative quality.
SP: What is abstraction to you? What led you to incorporate this as the dominant area of your art practice?
SG: “Abstraction,” or as I prefer, “non-representational,” is not about the visual but about the process — abstracting, removing the unnecessary. However, this is subjective. A process-based approach is important to me, where the process leads the way, and one follows it, not the other way around. It is a surrender to faith and intuition.
I do not begin with a preconceived idea or thought of what I am going to create — the process dictates that journey. The need is to be present. Memory represents what we know, but what about what we don’t know? That is what interests me.
SP: What initially drew you to work on small, black absorbent paper surfaces? And how did it shape your understanding of texture and depth in your practice?
SG: Since my college days at JJ, I have been using black as my base or starting point — whether it’s paper or canvas. (I even paint a fresh white canvas black when I start a new work!) Somewhere along the way, I realised that “white” felt intimidating; facing it gave me a feeling close to stage fright, as if I needed to perform. “Black,” on the other hand, was comforting. It is the layering that eventually creates the texture and depth in my work.
SP: The unpredictability of your process allows for the unexpected to emerge. Could you share a specific instance where this unpredictability led to a surprising or particularly meaningful result?
SG: I hope most of my works show a small shift from my earlier ones. There are small, gradual shifts in my work, not large jumps. But I remember the first time I made a cut on the canvas — it was a very big leap for me. It led to more and more modulations in my work, which have now become an organic process.
SP: Could you walk us through your process of selecting a colour palette for your works? What guides your choices in terms of hue and intensity?
SG: Colour selection is not a conscious choice, and I am not very particular about it. To me, colour is only an entry point — the first visual. After that, the colour ceases to exist; it fades, and one is hopefully drawn deeper into the language beneath.
SP: What advice would you give to the young, emerging talents who are trying to find their voices in the art world?
SG: Young artists today are doing great work! The only advice is to take the time to develop and find your voice — don’t be impatient or in a rush.
Image Courtesy: Sheetal Gattani
Find out more about the artist and her artworks: https://www.gallerychemould.com/artists/32-sheetal-gattani/
