Critics

Russell Cassleton Elliott featured Sarbani Sen as ‘one of India's leading artists of her generation, who is a largely self-taught artist, taking her inspiration from nature and man's relationship with it. Her style ranges from semi-abstraction to realism, and takes the viewer on a tour of the Indian she clearly loves so much, from the dusty outdoor bazaar, to the majesty of the Himalayas.

Asiana Magazine, UK, says about Sarbani Sen: ‘’her paintings hang all over the world. You can find them nestled in a remote corner in Bank of America or taking centre stage in the Finance Ministry of India.

Something of an eco-warrior at heart, Sen’s fascination with the countryside is a call back to a golden age.

‘‘India is losing an important part of itself. Everyone is moving to the cities to find a job, and our beautiful forests are being torn down.”

Asian Woman Magazine, UK, highlights, ‘’Sen’s works at first glance are simple, concentrating on a basic representation and often using a limited colour palette which allows concentration on the images. This is seen clearly in Court Dancers where two female dancing figures show little detail, allowing the viewer to focus on their movement, or the vivid greens and blues of Water Lilies.

Sen draws inspiration from India and uses themes and objects from her homeland as the basis for her work. This too is subtle, allowing one to concentrate on the image first, with the details of the painting … slowly emerging.‘’

London Lantern describes Sarbani Sen paintings in ‘Reflections on India’: ‘’these evocative paintings depict very different images of India illustrating a side of the country and its people not often alluded to by artists. The bustle of an outdoor bazaar, the fleeting glance of an open-air wedding, the brooding mist hanging heavily over the lagoon …… This is India at its most intriguing, with a hint of menace and austerity, a world away from the familiar images of the key monuments. This is the intellectual lever that connects the artist with the viewer.

The artist … travels widely for inspiration and is always drawn back to the Himalayas. Particularly drawn to Europe, she has studied the Old Masters and Oriental Schools in most major collections. Her choice of subjects perfectly encapsulates her calm tonal palette and mastery of contrasting light.’’

Mayfair & St. James ‘Life Magazine, UK, says about Sarbani Sen ‘’her paintings reflect man’s relationship with nature, and her artistic style ranges from realism to semi abstract. A glimpse of an open air wedding, a bazaar and storm clouds over the Himalayas are among her subjects.’’

R.T.Shahani in ‘The Afternoon’ Mumbai, wrote ‘…Sarbani Sen’s oils on canvas are brilliant for their contents as well as her love for nature revealed through them… An art we can sit back and enjoy, an art of purity and balance, which is reminiscent of the master artists of nature like Constable and Turner of England.

Kiran Sheikh in The Asian Age, Mumbai wrote: Sarbani’s works are a refuge from urban squalor …the jagged mountain with its pine covered slopes are the painter’s statements about her strong feelings about the denudation of the Himalayas.

Dnyaneshwar Nadkarni, the well-known art critic, wrote in the Pioneer, Mumbai ‘… Sarbani Sen is one of our most distinguished nature painters. …She comes riding on the glory of very successful exhibitions held at ‘The Gallery in Cork Street, London. ..Sarbani’s success is well deserved. For, she has consistently shown in her canvases, environment in the context of nature.

An article by Usha Karnani in Femina magazine spoke of the ‘Nature’al passion of Sarbani Sen’. She has explicitly penned down details about her painting styles and the hard work she puts in to paint her heart out.

Indian Express featured Sarbani Sen in 2002. Adita Danayak captioned her paintings as A Brush with Nature. She says ‘Capturing moods in a striking manner, be it people or Nature, her creations are a carnival in colors.'

Devyani Shahane of The Times of India, wrote of her in an article ‘’Nature, her muse’’: Her work is very simple and direct, where she keeps the focus of the theme very basic, without going into too much stylization. Her canvas breathes of stillness and motion at the same time. And her meditative nature is revealed in her play of colors and choice of themes.

In an article in the Economic Times ET Esquire, M. H. Jadhav writes: Her landscapes are a manifestation of her inner love for nature. But that has not diluted the rigors of an intellectual scrutiny. She is a modernist, bereft of obsession and pretension.