In a loosely autobiographical sense, my work is inevitably linked to being the first generation in the family to be born in America, which creates a duality marked by a removed and at once direct presence of culture, religion, values and ethos. Through art I am able to reconcile this gap and celebrate the richness of the culture of India which I inherited, and that of America which is mine by birth. Threads of a dislocated heritage reveal themselves, sometimes explicitly in my work. References used are situated in and between both cultures, assigning new depth to commonplace and commercial imagery as well as re-contextualizing mythological and art historical archetypes and motifs. A sense of vertigo, of being neither here nor there, often pervades. My strategy of overlay forms a visual vocabulary which eludes easy categorization and examines how identity is constructed and, in some cases, imposed by others. I frequently combine images from a variety of sources, including my own photographs and everyday objects into studies for my paintings. These collages and the paintings that result address the slippage of meaning and new terms that form in the dice game of translation or conversion of cultural currency. Themes include the perpetuation of stereotypes through popular culture, social formations and survival instincts common to all creatures, and the effect of cultural and physical displacement on identity.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
- Asian Arts Initiative | Philadelphia | Neither Here Nor There | 2/13 – 3/27/2006
curated by Sean Stoops
- Queens Museum of Art | NYC | Fatal Love | 2005
curated by Jaishri Abichandani and Prerana Reddy
- P.S.122 | NYC | Blow the Conch | 2004
curated by Nitin Mukul and Trevor Chamberlain
- IAAC Gallery at W.29th St. | Chelsea, NYC | Erasing Borders | 2004
curated by Sundaram Tagore
- SAVAC | Toronto | Peace Taxi | 2004
curated by Cyrus Irani
- Kanoria Centre for Art | Ahmedabad, India | Auracle | 2003
curated by Nitin Mukul and Deepak Kulkarni
- Gallery Om | New Delhi, India | Recent Work | 2003
curated by Divya Seth
- D.U.M.B.O. Art Under the Bridge | Brooklyn, NYC | 2001
- Contemporary Artists Center | North Adams, MA | 1998
- Augusta Savage Gallery | Amherst, MA | 1997
curated by Terry Jenoure
PERFORMANCE
- Chashama Theatre | NYC | 2003
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Lower East Side Tenement Museum | NYC | 2003
- Artwallah | Los Angeles | 2003
- Asia Society Museum | NYC | Living Off the 7 | 2001
RESIDENCIES- Kanoria Centre for Art | Ahmedabad, India | 2003
EMPLOYMENT/COMMISSIONS- Creative & Business Director | Indocenter of Art & Culture | NYC | 2002-03
- Sol Lewitt execution team member | NYC | 2004
PUBLICATIONS- New York Times | Art in Review | by Holland Cotter | March 27, 2005
- Ego Magazine | Kiran Chandra | April, 2005
- Art India Magazine | Nitin Deckha | April, 2003
BIOGRAPHY- Born 1969 | Lawrence, Massachusetts
- Bachelor of Fine Arts, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, 1992
- Amsterdam School of the Arts, Netherlands, 1991.
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