Lyrical Landscapes opening set Nov. 2 at Peninsula Gallery

Peninsula Gallery will present Lyrical Landscapes, a solo exhibition of abstract melodies of the outdoors by Neelam Padte, from Saturday, Nov. 2 to Sunday, Nov. 24, at 520 East Savannah Road, Lewes. 

The gallery will be filled with Neelam’s bold shapes and swaths of exaggerated color, as 25 brand-new paintings of all sizes and a selection of Neelam’s fine art floorcloths will be featured.

An artist reception will be held from 5 to 6:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 2, and is free and open to the public. Attendees will have the opportunity to mingle with Padte. For details, call 302-645-0551 or email peninsulagallery1@gmail.com.  

Born in Mumbai, India, surrounded by artists and musicians, Padte quickly discovered her creative spirit and developed a keen interest in various forms of art. After earning a bachelor of fine arts degree in graphic design from the University of Mumbai, she emigrated to the United States in 1984. While raising her family, she worked as a computer graphic designer, web designer and computer programmer.

In 2001, she became a full-time floorcloth (hand-painted canvas rug) artist. The patterns of her floorcloths are inspired by Colonial American wall and floor designs. After 14 years of this work, Padte found the creative process to be pleasing yet repetitive. In pursuit of the next stage in her art career, she discovered the freedom of abstraction by studying the works of Henri Matisse, Mark Rothko, Frank Stella, Helen Frankenthaler, V.S. Gaitonde and S.H. Raza.

An unplanned immersion into spirituality released Padte from her comfort zone as an artist and gave her the courage to express herself freely in her newly developed abstract painting process, which is the subject of this showcase. Her landscapes are constructed with acrylics, oil sticks, graphite and charcoal, and they embrace minimalist compositions with large blocks of color and subtle texture. The subjects and colors of her landscape paintings are influenced by nature’s inspirations reflected in her mood and impulses. She is inspired by earth, water, wind, fire and space as viewed through the prism of her soul.

Padte said, “I express my emotions, illusions and thoughts through my paintings. My landscape paintings reflect the overall essence of nature that I see or imagine. Using a limited palette, I keep compositions simple, and my focus is on balancing colors, values and texture.”

Works from Lyrical Landscapes can be previewed at peninsula-gallery.com.