The Other Space

By the late 1970's, proto-human figures and defined spaces that were characteristic of Broota's work gave way to different forms 'under the insistent scraping and nicking of the blade'. Rather than use the canvas to build up the forms, he tried the reverse procedure whereby the form could be 'coaxed, revealed or evacuated from its depths. This process, unique to Broota, involves the over painting of the canvas with layers of paint, notably silver, deep ochres and modified tones of black.' (Gayatri Sinha, Rameshwar Broota, New Delhi, Vadehra Art Gallery, 2001, p. 29.) The process is slow and deliberate; not based on the extrapolation of a preconceived idea but the exploration of his craft and its ultimately 'metaphysical' depths.

The result is a symbiotic relationship of form and content, where there is 'immense plastic integration' and they are 'subtly yet indissoluably bound together.... The work, with its veins, nerves, lines or what have you is a metaphor. And being so, it is multi-layered.' (Keshav Malik, Rameshwar Broota: The Winding Spiral, New Delhi, Shridharani Gallery, 1998.)