I am a self-taught Indian-born artist. My art comprises oil painting and collage on paper. It is inspired by my multicultural upbringing and professional history.
I was born in New Delhi and spent my early formative years in Kanpur, India before moving to Montreal, Canada. Although I migrated to the West at an early age, I grew up surrounded by Indian Folk art. Our house was decorated with Madhubani and Rajput paintings and prints, tribal tapestry, wood carvings and sculptures from India. The centrality of Indian folk art gave it equal value to 'Western 'high art' for me.
I spent my professional life working on issues of intersectionality in different developing countries, which, I believe, has informed my art practice thematically and aesthetically. I am interested in both the stark and subtle disparities and differences that define people’s lives. I am drawn to exploring qualities of power, vulnerability, and resilience that drive and define different people. Doing so, involves questioning traditional assumptions about power, Is brut force true strength? Where do conviction, perseverance, grit, joy, and love for example fall within our determinations of power, winners, and losers?
I have been influenced by the vernacular culture of daily objects such as the patterned aesthetic of woven baskets, pottery or the concentric symmetry of rice paddies and the tropical light and vibrant colours of flora and fauna of my time living in different developing countries.
I lived in Brooklyn New York between 2012-2015 where I began my exclusive focus on fine art. I returned to Canada in 2015 and now live between Ottawa and Montreal.
