The Open Studio / Leela sivani chellapilla
Leela sivani chellapilla
Isolate
A face hidden under green cloth while the cats keep watching
Petals the colour of embers lift from every corner.
A green cloth falls over a face that will not show itself.
On the shirt a cartoon rabbit keeps smiling for both of them.
The cats do not leave. They wait in the folds of flame and look.
The oil lies thick and soft, like warm wax.
Inside the cloth it is quiet. Outside, the whole garden burns.
The work
Isolate is an oil painting on canvas by Leela Sivani Chellapilla, made in 2025. A figure stands in a pale T-shirt with a cartoon rabbit on the front. A green garment is pulled over the head and hides the face. Orange and pink flowers turn around the figure like flames. Small tabby cats look out from the edges. Chellapilla uses plants and animals as signs for human feelings and habits. The canvas is 152.4 × 121.92 × 2 cm. Chellapilla is from Andhra University and is based in Bangalore.
In the artist’s words
“Art, for me, is a vital means of translation. Working in oil, I look at the fragile bond between human behaviour and the natural world. I use flowers and animals as stand-ins for human emotions, instincts and habits. A twisting vine, a resilient bloom or the gaze of an animal can be a mirror of our inner states.”
- Theme
- Hiding from the world
- Material
- Oil on canvas
- Size
- 152.4 × 121.92 × 2 cm
- Year
- 2025
- Edition
- 1
- Framed
- No
- About the artist
- Andhra university
- From
- Banglore
- Code
- RC-630
