ARTIST STATEMENT
The inspiration for this body of work was my fascination with the various manifestations of mother goddess in the Indian culture.
The concept of a powerful being who can create, nurture or destroy is well known and accepted in the Indian society and yet, a woman’s place in the real world is more often fragile and powerless.
Physical beauty and adornment are generally considered to be superficial and reinforce the perception of women as objects of beauty and desire only. However I have come to believe that external adornment does not need to be simply superficial or vain, it can be a path to the inner beauty as well.
In these paintings, I hope to celebrate the multifaceted nature of a woman in the modern world. I have used images that range from the macabre to the earthy fertility goddess juxtaposed with glitter, fabric, sequins and crystals to emphasize that the surface color and decorations are as integral to a woman’s life as the deep-seated need to give birth and nurture life.
BIO
Education:
1994-2000: BA Hons Fine Art, West Surrey University for Art and Design, Farnham, Surrey, U.K.
1993-1994: BTEC Fine Arts. Brooklands College, Weybridge, Surrey U.K.
1978-1980: MA Philosophy, Central University, Hyderabad, India.
1976-1978: Bachelor of Science Osmania University, Hyderabad, India
Exhibitions:
Holy Lives, Maloney Gallery, St Elizabeth's College, NJ, 2011
Sacred Vanity, Gallery 51, Montclair, NJ, April 2011
Erasing Borders 2011, Indo-American Arts Council, April 2011
Art In Embassies, Belmopan, Belize, 2011.
Erasing Borders 2010, Indo-American Arts Council, April 2010
Reddy Heller, Morristown Community Theatre, March 2008
Surface Chants, Kalahita Art Gallery, India, January 2008
Members show, Visual Art Center of NJ, June 2006
Music as Muse, Printmaking Council, NJ, May 2006
Visual Voices, Osterley House, Twickenham, UK, May 2006
Inner Feelings, Gallery Space, Hyderabad, March 2006
State Gallery of Fine Art, Hyderabad, India, Dec 2005
Eastern Expressions, Watchung Art Center, NJ, Oct 2005
Members Show, NJCVA, June 2005
Small Impressions, NJ Printmaking Council, June 2004
Harmony: Mumbai, India, April 2004
Visual Voices: MaltingsFarnham Surrey, UK, Sept, 2003
Denver, Colorado, USA, 2001
Surrey Institute of Art and Design, Farnham, U.K, 2000
Whiteleys, Bayswater, London, 2000
The Fringe Festival, Woking, U.K, 1994. |
