Dr Simple Mohanty’s solo show, Brush with Nature, celebrates her dialogue with nature.
Dr Simple Mohanty’s latest solo exhibition, Brush with Nature, which opened on April 25, 2025 at Lokayata Art Gallery, captured a pivotal evolution in her artistic expression. Known for her emotionally resonant and visually buoyant style, this show reveals a refined maturity in her practice and celebrates her deeply personal dialogue with nature. Her show at Lokayata brings together 46 evocative paintings that reflect a philosophy of joy, presence, and harmony.
With sweeping, impressionistic strokes and a bold, luminous palette, Mohanty renders scenes that pulsate with life. Her subjects—ranging from flowers, still life and waterbodies to figures immersed in natural settings— are all threaded by a common theme: a spiritual and pantheistic connection to nature as a source of vitality and joy.
Viewers often describe her work as “Happy Art,” andit’s easy to see why. There’s a sense of exuberance and serenity in every canvas, a reflection of the artist’s own method—one rooted in stillness and spiritual alignment. For Mohanty, nature is not merely a muse, but a reservoir of energy and peace. Each painting is born out of a meditative communion with this life force, which she then channels onto her canvases. Over the years, she has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions across Delhi, Dubai and Poland. In India’s capital alone, she has shown her work at prestigious venues such as the Lalit Kala Akademi, AIFACS, Visual Art Gallery, Open Palm Court Gallery, and Art Junction at The Lalit Hotel.
Her accomplishments are noteworthy: she was honoured with the Bharat Nirman Make in India Award for excellence in Fine Arts in 2018 and won international accolades through the Light, Space & Time Online Gallery in 2021. That same year, she gained global Re cognition as the only Indian shortlisted for New York based See Me Art Gallery’s collaboration with Spanish fashion house Mint & Rose. Her acrylic painting, living in the Moment, not only won the final online vote but was also printed on a limited-edition line of espadrilles, along with a cash prize—solidifying her presence on the international art map.
Inspired by the emotive force of Van Gogh, the lyrical landscapes of Monet and the playful strokes of Matisse, Mohanty’s art also flirts with the pop art genre.
Her pop-infused works often feature bright colours, whimsical forms and thoughtful captions echoing her life philosophy: embracing the present moment. These, too, are tied to her broader themes of mindful living and sacred interconnectedness with the natural world.
The, Brush with Nature, exhibition, which features46 acrylic and mixed media works, was inaugurated by esteemed artists Naresh Kapuria and Asit Patnaik.
Among the special guests were Grecu Nicu Nicola, Minister Counsellor at the Embassy of Romania and art director and critic Qazi M. Raghib.
