The Hindu
Delhi, Saturday,August 24,2002

DELHI / LIFE

Indian Imagery, Japanese Technique

While her husband was posted as Minister in the Embassy of India in Tokyo in 1994, she mastered the Japanese technique of Nihonga. Today she is perhaps the only Indian artist who paints Indian imagery in this Japanese technique.
  
During her subsequent solo exhibitions in various cities of Japan, Madhu Jain had the opportunity to interact with a wide cross section of Japanese people. "I became interested in their culture and took formal training in art, bonsai and ikebana," she says.

After studying Nihonga under the guidance of Japanese teachers and artists, Madhu returned to India and held a solo exhibition of her works, "Pathar Ke Rangon Se" at Lalit Kala Akademi in New Delhi in 1999. " Nihonga involves the use of rock mineral pigments which are derived from shells, corals, semi precious stones and even gold and silver leaves," she informs. " This technique originated in India centuries ago but travelled to the Far East and got adopted there."

On the occasion of India and Japan celebrating 50 years of their diplomatic relations , Madhu has been invited to organise an exhibition of paintings, `Folk Expressions' in Japan. " It is an honor for me as an Indian artist that my exhibition has been selected for this occasion," she says. "This has given me an opportunity to contribute my bit in projecting Indian cultural heritage and traditions to the people of Japan once again.