As a Painter

She specializes in capturing dance movements on canvas. She has developed a unique style of her own in painting and it is said of her paintings that, "The dancer paints and the paintings dance".

"Like transcribing from one language to another, transferring the experiences felt in one medium to another - dance into painting - was challenging. The first painting 'Nartaki' was done in 1974 when I was working for an Exhibition in Bangalore. Exploring dance movements - at first those of classical dance styles and later folk and other movements as well - and painting them on canvas was a highly absorbing experience. Some of the dance numbers I have choreographed echo as painting. Krishna's dance on Kalinga, Siva as Nataraja, Durga and Kali have all been presented as dance numbers as well as painting" - says Komala Varadan.

She has held 18 Solo Exhibitions of her paintings and she has participated in other exhibitions.

• Participated in the 32nd National Exhibition of Art of Lalit Kala Akademi.
  
  
• Also participated in International Woman's Year Exhibition, Vimal's Harmony Show, Mysore Dasara Exhibition, Mysore State Lalit Kala Akademi Exhibition etc.



• She has participated in the All India Artist Camp held at the banks of Sangam in Allahabad during Magh Mala and All India Artist Camp in Goa.
  
  
• She was shown in the News bulletin of KNBC television in America as a unique artist who can present dance both as a performing art as well as a visual art under the title 'India - Painting Comes Alive'.
  
  
• "Her innovative approach to present dance sequences might be somewhat puzzling to those familiar with Chavda, for example. Here they will encounter the very essence of dance, for her paintings are lyrics of pulsating colour." - wrote R.T. Shahani in The Daily, Mumbai.
  
  
• Paintings are in the collection of National Gallery of Modern Art, Ministry of External Affairs, Reserve Bank of India, Exim Bank of India, Atomic Energy Commission, Contemporary Artist's Gallery of Bangalore and many private collections in India like Bombay Dyeing, Business Press and many abroad.