A Chandigarh-based artist named Shifa Mahajan holds a solo art exhibition featuring paintings on shoes at Books and Brew café in sector 38. Her paintings are distinctive in their technique and evocative of different subjects like common man, fear of the dark, and corporate gossip. They blend realism, abstraction, and emotion. The painted shoes are available for purchase and custom orders. Shifa was inspired to pursue art full-time after receiving appreciation from prominent people for her works. She draws inspiration from Vincent Van Gogh's experimental style and hopes to establish her name in the world of painting.

1. By: Nupur Malhotra
B
ringing the unconventional to
fore and experimenting with the
display mediums, a Chandigarh
based corporate turned artist has
made shoes, stairs and walls her
canvas. Shifa Mahajan’s paintings
on an out of the box theme, shoes, is increas-
ingly catching eyeballs and driving youngsters
to her art exhibition. Her paintings are distinc-
tive in technique, evocative in sense of subject
and full of feelings. Each piece of art is weaved
in the thread of little realism, bit of abstraction,
and a lot of emotion. Her work is on display at
Books and Brew café in sector 38 till the end of
this month. Interestingly, the painted canvas
shoes are available for a pick and in case you
want it for gifting purpose, you can place an
order for your friend.
Being a girl, Shifa shares the shoe fetish with
every woman who believes that shoes express
your mood and personality. Through her exhi-
bition titled‘Let shoes do the talking’, she
wanted to emote through different subjects
and present a new outlook to people. The
exhibits include traditional paintings on shoes
as well but the exquisiteness lies in the fact
that there are no figures or faces given to any
of it. Black is integral colour to her artistic
pieces and she has beautifully depicted com-
mon man, fear of the dark, corporate bitching
and love under the table through her skill.
A resident of sector 38, Shifa visited Books
and Brew sometime back where she read the
sign‘I am waiting to be painted here’at the
café. She approached the owner and got to
know about the young artists’wall that is a
permanent feature of the café. Things went
well and thus her first solo exhibition took
place. Earlier the 23 year old has presented her
works to eminent people like former President
APJ Abdul Kalam, Director Symbiosis K. Subra-
manian and Credit Suisse New York Director,
Theodore Piper. The appreciation she received
motivated her to quit her job her high profile
job to pursue her passion for painting.“It was
the fervor for art, the inner struggle to achieve
something distinctive and be an iconoclast
that drove me towards following the passion
and leave pension and job security,”shared the
artist.
A great fan of Vincent Van Gogh, Shifa draws
inspiration from his works that are known for
its rough beauty, emotional honesty and bold
colour.“He kept exploring different techniques
and felt burden while following clichéd set of
instructions of using mediums. The freshness
in every piece of art inspires me to explore,”
expressed the self-taught artist.
According to her, the biggest challenge in
being an artist is finding lack of respect in few
circles. However, she feels that with increasing
awareness, people are gradually appreciating
new career options. When asked about her
home city Chandigarh, she says,“It is less
appreciative of art at this point but a great city
for untapped talent to showcase their talent.”
Her exhibition is casting a spell through its
unique concept on the spectators and Shifa
wishes to continue trying different permuta-
tions and combinations and make‘Shifa’a
brand name in world of painting in the future.
KALEIDOSCOPE
Mail Today, New Delhi / Chandigarh, Sunday, April 29, 2012
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Let the
SHOES Talk
Grace your feet
with painted
footwear. You
can wear them
formally or
informally
Customise
your
Kicks
Making shoes her canvas, a
budding artist displays her art
at an interactive café in the city
Each piece of art is
weaved in the thread
of little realism, bit of
abstraction, and a lot
of emotion at the
exhibition that caters
to youngsters with its
unique appeal and
contemporary style