Artist Statement:
I migrated to the USA from India to continue postdoctoral studies in Biochemistry. When I turned 58, I discovered a passion for painting and uploaded 70 artworks to a website, and was surprised how colorful they were. I questioned why that was and regressed back to my childhood to analyze my life. Color has been an integral part of my life as I used colorful clothing and surrounded my home in color to combat challenging situations and depression. Color uplifts my spirit every time I am depressed and wondered if color impacts well-being? Could it be a cure for depression? According to the World Health Organization one in seven people in the world have depression and it is one in four in the US. In my case, color causes Synesthesia and evokes feelings of joy. Synesthesia is the stimulation of one sensory pathway that produces an involuntary effect in a secondary sensory pathway.
My works allow me to use colors in myriad ways, to depict my ideas and thoughts I want to bring forth into the world. I use oils, acrylics, water color, pastels, mixed media and more recently fabric. My paintings are quite colorful, textured and have a feeling of reckless abandon. Some of my works take a few hours and some may be agonizingly long. I am not a taught painter. I am an intuitive painter. Therefore, my brush strokes, palette knife techniques etc. may be unconventional. While my first love is realism, my collections, unbeknownst to me are abstract. I have delved in everything from florals to landscapes and abstracts to social contexts. The world around me is my inspiration. I’m only beginning to study artists and their creations so I paint what comes to mind. Sometimes, it is a beautiful landscape that I personally immersed in and sometimes I paint my gut responses to things happening around me; I’m always an unfiltered opinionated person.
I have an acute sensitivity to color and my artwork is infused with vibrant and harmonious colors. I use color not just as a visual element but a powerful emotional tool to convey emotion, atmosphere and narrative. My approach to color is bold and expressive. I may use glazes to create depth and luminosity, juxtapose complementary colors to heighten contrast or use subtle shifts in tone and temperature to evoke a sense of mood and atmosphere. I want to find out why colors in my paintings, sculptures and everyday life evoke feelings of joy within me and whether it is a brain chemistry or event that can be quantitated by questionnaires and physical measurement of the effects these colors have on the brain.
I hope to make paintings that resonate with the human spirit, illuminating the beauty, complexity and inherent mystery of existence. I want my paintings to convey the beauty, wonder and reverence for the world around us. I want to engage my viewer on an emotional and intellectual level. I want the viewer to seek alternative realms of perception, and invite them to derive what they must through their own individual experiences through the colors pushed around on my canvas. I want people to be connected at a deeper level through my art and develop respect for things they do not see or even understand, thereby developing an insatiable desire to seek more answers and I hope to inspire them to feel, think and perceive the world in new and profound ways.
My sculptures are mixed media works and installations that I make to tell the stories of the contributions of Indian women in the United States. It is sustainable art as it uses recycled sarees and clothes worn by women of Indian origin. I have started with the women of Dayton and hope to highlight their contributions through my sculpture series. These will eventually be showcased in a children’s book and a coffee table book. I also hope to get orders for installations of these sculptures which I plan to install in large rooms that span from floor to ceiling. I envision these to be a visual and sensory treat for people who can walk through the exhibit and marvel at not just the stories of these incredible women, but also the workmanship of the workers who made the sarees. My sculpture will only be an enhancement to the incredible beauty of the six yards of fabric.
In order to convince the scientific community that color in paintings and art could have a direct relationship to the mental well-being of an individual; the relationship of color to the mental state of individuals must be assessed. I am excited to see whether my artistic journey brings us closer to understanding the role of color on the mental well-being and thereby effect positive policy changes towards all artistic disciplines.
I have also started working on integrating the arts to teach core curriculum and I am in the process of studying the role of Arts Integration, not just in student outcomes, but their mental health as well.
