{
  "id": 6283589,
  "title": "At 80, Artist Shailaja S. Kamat Fulfils A Long-Held Dream With Solo Show At Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/08/at-80-artist-shailaja-s-kamat-fulfils-a-long-held-dream-with-solo",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-08T12:52:26.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Press Journal",
    "slug": "free-press-journal",
    "url": "https://www.freepressjournal.in/lifestyle/at-80-artist-shailaja-s-kamat-fulfils-a-long-held-dream-with-solo-show-at-jehangir-art-gallery-mumbai"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Artist Shailaja S. Kamat, aged 80, is fulfilling her long-held dream with a solo exhibition at Mumbai’s renowned Jehangir Art Gallery, running from September 7th to 13th. With a career spanning exhibition experiences across India and Dubai, Kamat's cityscapes serve as a visual representation of India’s transformation over the decades. Her works delve into more than just structures, capturing the lives and struggles of people, symbolizing the shift from rural traditions to rapid urbanization.\n\nShailaja often draws inspiration from various cities, both large and small, and even villages. For the most inspiring cities, she mentions modern metropolises like Mumbai and Pune, as well as smaller cities including Nashik, Banaras, and Haridwar. The sacred sites in places like Hampi, Karnataka, also hold a special place in her heart, providing her with a wealth of architectural and sculptural inspiration for her cityscape paintings. Among the villages, those along Karnataka's coastal regions and the Konkan area, as well as places like Belgaum, capture her imagination. Her fascination lies in their simplicity, evident in the architectural construction of houses, brick walls, wells, and compounds, which she often interprets in her paintings both in a modern and abstract manner.\n\nWhile reflecting on the changes in modern India, Kamat expresses her concerns about the disintegrating sense of community in our cities. She feels that as older spaces are replaced by modern constructions, the closeness and unity among people are gradually diminishing. Life has become faster, and people have become more self-centered, leading to a loss of human values such as unity, friendship, cultural diversity, and a helping nature. Through her cityscapes, Kamat seeks to reflect on these changes and hopes to witness a return to those golden days of harmony, peace, and togetherness.\n\nInterestingly, Shailaja often uses hues of a single color in her works, but she doesn't limit herself to specific colors for particular types of paintings. For instance, in the current exhibition, she has employed various shades of blue, pink, and yellow, each serving a unique purpose. Blue and pink hues are used to depict sunset and night, while yellow is reserved for morning scenes. She allows the choice of colors to emerge organically during the painting process, making it a spontaneous and unpredictable journey.",
  "summary": "At 80, artist Shailaja S. Kamat fulfils a long-held dream with her solo exhibition at Mumbai’s Jehangir Art Gallery, from September 7–13. Having exhibited across India and Dubai, Kamat’s cityscapes capture India’s transformation—from serene villages and places of worship to industrial landscapes and sprawling cities. Drawing on eight decades of change, her works explore not just buildings, but…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}