BIRTH PLACE & INFLUENCE

I was born in Chennai which was then called Madras and brought up in Bombay, now Mumbai.

All the diverse cultures in India come together in Mumbai and I grew up in that mixed culture absorbing the essence of ‘Indian-ness’, whether it is in the clothes I wear or the language I speak or the designs I create.
I call it the fusion culture and it is reflected in my art.

In Mumbai, the over-crowded city, I could see how different cultures co-existed and complimented each other. In my art too styles co-exist.

Though there will always be an underlying similarity in my art, I leave that part to the discerning eye of art lovers to explore and discover.

 

STATEMENT

My Journey as an Artist: My works are about my experiences in life and my interpretation of it, be it a dream, a thought or even words and phrases. I can resort to experiments too to satisfy my curious mind.

My subjects border on the philosophical and at times touch the spiritual. I vary my style to suit the topic. If need be, I switch to abstract too as I love the intrigue that abstracts afford. In fact, I have moved on to Abstracts very seriously from the year 2022. I now have quite a collection of Abstracts and am continuing with it. I believe that art is a journey and as we move ahead in life the style changes too.

I do not use any visual references for my concept based or abstract art. It comes from deep within or from my own doodles.
For Landscapes, I either sketch on the spot or make use of my own photographs of the place.

When I paint, I am deeply engrossed in thought and one with the subject. I paint alone in the peace and silence of my home cum studio.

I like my audiences to interpret my art in their own way and tell me what they see and feel in it. I love it if the viewer is drawn deep into the work and sees something more each time.

My favourite historical artists are Vincent Van Gogh and Salvador Dali.

I have been asked by some if I draw my Inspiration from Chagall and there are those who think there is an influence of Wassily Kandinsky.
But I personally have no take on that. I leave it to my audiences to decide.

As for myself, once I hold the brush, my hands automatically move in tune with the thought and that’s all that matters to me.

 

MEDIUM & MATERIALS

Experimenting with medium and materials is always exciting for me and so is the mixing of two mediums in one canvas. I paint with Oils and Acrylic and sometimes with Gouache.

Besides painting on Canvas, I have also painted on Oil Paper, Paper and even Plywood.
Whatever I can lay my hands on at the moment when the imagination is fired, is good enough for me. I’ll make the best use of it.

 

SIGNATURE

I always sign and date my paintings. Some of the paintings have a watermark-like thumb print usually to the left of the signature, wherever it does not disturb the eye. As of now, I have 4 different signatures, three of which you will see in my abstracts.

 

PASSION

​

 

• Painting - As a child I used to send out drawings to magazines’ children section for competitions.

• Painted seriously from the year 1998.

• Spiritual need to express my feelings and my passion drive my Art practice.

• I endeavour to engage the community so that my mind opens to the million different ways of seeing things and the community in turn can see and interpret my art in their very own way.

• Poetry writing – I have created Poster Poems too. I write poetry inspired by my paintings and vice-versa besides other topics too

• Other Activities: I Love Running and Swimming. From the year 2020 I have run 10 Kms in many races including the TATA Mumbai Marathon. I also completed the Half Marathon in January 2023 in the TATA Mumbai Marathon.

 

​

 

EXHIBITIONS

​

• Feb. 6th - 12th 2024, Solo exhibition at Kala Ghoda, Art Entrance Gallery, Fort, Mumbai, India

• June 16th - July 16th 2023 – Exhibited at Galeria West, New Jersey, USA

• January 19th – 22nd 2023 – I participated in India Art Festival where a few of my Abstracts were displayed through Curio Corner, Mumbai

• August 12 – 14th 2022 – I participated in India Art Festival - Exhibiting a few of my works through Curio Corner, Mumbai

• July 2nd – 6th, 2018_"Silence Speaks" –  Exhibited at The Nehru Centre, High Commission of India, 8 South Audley Street, LONDON W1K 1HF.

• December 2nd – 18th, 2017 – I participated in a Juried show in Canada, Toronto where all of my three entries were selected for an exhibition titled “Something Different & the Big Art Book” at  Scarborough Arts, Cedar Ridge Gallery – an initiative of The City of Toronto.

• September 25th 2017 – Solo Exhibition at the Consulate General of India, Toronto.

• August 2nd - 14th, 2017- Participated in Group Show in Canada, Toronto, at Art Square / Art Hub Gallery

• May 5th, 2017 - An Hour long talk in English at the Indian Embassy in Washington DC titled - "A Walk through the Artist's Mind". 

• November 2014 - Exhibited at - India Art Festival ¬- Nehru Centre in Mumbai - Group show - 3 Artists

• November 2013 - Exhibited at - Bandra Wine Festival – Monsoon Winds, in the Art Section. Group Show - 3 Artists

• March 2013 - Exhibited at - Wine Festival – Monsoon Winds, at Ramada Inn, Powai. Group Show 3 Artists - created a “paintings wall” in the lawn.

• May 2006 - First group show of 3 Artists – Mumbai, INDIA.