Art Garde Exhibition Spotlights Emerging Women Artists

Voices of Women presented by Art Garde is a contemporary art exhibition under the Young Collectors’ Pop Up umbrella initially launched in 2022. This exhibition showcases works by emerging and middle-contemporary women artists from across the country. The exhibition highlights the flourishing practices of women artists across mediums. While equal representation between men and women artists is still not a reality, there is a steady increase in exhibitions and platforms like this one that seek to address this disparity. In 2023 the Art Basel and YBS Survey of Global Collecting drew attention to the fact that women collectors are now collecting more than men, and many of them focus on this disparity and address it by actively collecting women artists exclusively.

Through a showcase of diverse mediums, styles and experiences, the show eliminates stereotypes associated with women artists. This curation intends to move away from stereotypes that are often limiting the expansion of women in fine arts today. A similar approach has been taken when also curating the subject matter represented. For instance in art universities across the country, the female nude is still not taught in live drawing classes. Historically, specifically within the South Asian context women have been associated more with handicrafts, as opposed to fine arts. However, the adaptability of women when they engage with fine arts offers a unique glimpse at the intersection between physicality and painting. This exhibition does not intend to purport that women are intended to belong to a certain style of art. It provides a stage for women engaging in traditional and non-traditional, expected and unexpected. It is a curation of contemporary women artists across the spectrum today.

A common theme amongst the works displayed is how each woman responds to contemporary stimuli that impact that in a personal or general societal way while respecting diversity. The exhibition will take place from 9-15 April at A2/22 Safdarjung Enclave, New Delhi.

Participating Artists:

Malavika Rajnarayan studied painting at the College of Fine Arts, Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath and at the Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S. University of Baroda. Alongside her studio practice, she works as an arts resource person with the Azim Premji Foundation. Her works have been exhibited across India and abroad, most recently in the Seattle Art Museum in 2022. She has been an artist-in-residence at The Collective Studio Baroda; The Contemporary Artists Centre, Troy, New York: at CAMAC Centre for Art in Marnay sur-Seine, France, and a collective residency as a member of Surfatial at ZK/U, Berlin. She was the recipient of the Nasreen Mohammedi scholarship for post-graduate study in 2005. Malavika’s paintings use the human figure to create narratives that are infused with a feminine sensibility. Her background in Indian classical music as well as her interest in the progression of Indian and Asian knowledge traditions form the basis of her inquiries. Her visual language is informed by miniature painting traditions, where the poignancy of ideas are conveyed through beauty, grace and poetry.

Tanushree Sarkar is an acclaimed and award-winning art director of films like Parineeta, Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, and Eklavya. As a kid, she had always been interested in painting and fine arts. She started her career at Ogilvy & Mather, a media company. After spending about four years and being a cinema enthusiast. she joined a newly opened production house. As her career progressed, she felt that her art was left behind. So after Gabbar, she decided not to do films anymore and dedicate more time to her art. She participated in the Indian Art Fair, at Nehru Centre. Her work is heavily inspired by Indian history and culture.

Anushree Rabadia completed her BVA in Painting from the Faculty of Fine Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University, Vadodara, and is currently pursuing her MVA in Painting from MSU Baroda. She was awarded the Jeram Patel Award, Faculty of Fine Arts, The Maharaja Sayajirao University, Vadodara, 2020-2021. Anushree’s works are conceptually derived from her environment, nature, and the necessities of daily existence. She manipulates the materials according to the feel of the subject to communicate these observations. She uses pattern, flow, texture, rhythm, softness, sensitivity, and an interest in optical illusion to portray the intensity of her artwork, which enables her to produce 2- dimensional pieces on a mount board. She draws inspiration from India’s rich textile history for her own creative interpretations. Anushree lives and works in Vadodara, Gujarat, India.

Ekta Singha pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Visual Arts in Painting from the Government College of Art & Craft, Kolkata, India, She graduated with an MVA in Painting Faculty of Fine Arts, MSU, Baroda, Gujarat, India. Ekta captivates audiences with her ingenious blend of mediums and materials. Drawing inspiration from Mughal, Persian, and Rajput miniature painting traditions, Ekta has crafted a unique artistic identity. Influenced by her roots in Bangladesh, memories of her ancestral home infuse her work with depth and resonance. Ekta’s art reflects an intriguing fusion of two distinct traditions: miniature painting and Pata scroll paintings. While the former lends intricate visual elements to her work, the latter allows for expansive storytelling, imbuing her art with a sense of dynamic movement. Through her evocative use of materials and forms, Ekta Singha invites audiences on a journey of discovery through her captivating creations.

Maitreyi Desai, born in Valsad, Gujarat, Maitreyi Desai pursued her Bachelor’s degree of Visual Arts in Painting and Master’s degree of Visual Arts in Print-making from the M.S. University, Baroda. Maitreyi’s artworks feel ageless, like the bark of that hundred year old tree; and yet it is also deeply personal, ethereal in its delicacy. Through these interconnections with nature, she wishes to assert her own identity; an identity synonymous with rootness, and groundedness, to a home, a family, and if we can expand our consciousness, to nature. These are the layered metaphors in her work. The intricacies in her artworks are not just aesthetic representations of nature but also emotive, the essence of what it means to make a home, layer by layer, line by line is seen here. Maitreyi is currently based in Vadodara, Gujarat.

Neha Luthra was born in India and raised in Warsaw, Poland. She obtained her BA in Art History and Management from the University of St Andrews, Scotland, and an associate degree in Surface Pattern/Textile Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York. Neha studied painting under the mentorship of Despina Sevasti in Athens, Greece, and is currently part of The Royal Drawing School’s 2024 cohort for their Drawing Development Year. Her current art practice draws on her own photography and life experiences as subject matter. She resides between Warsaw & Jaipur.

Sareena Khemka is a talented visual artist known for her work in mixed media, particularly drawing, painting, and sculptural installations. She has a strong focus on exploring urban landscapes, often weaving together narratives of the past and future of cities. Sareena holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Kala Bhavan, Santiniketan, India. Throughout her career, Sareena has participated in numerous exhibitions, showcasing her artwork in galleries and art spaces across India and internationally. Some of her notable exhibitions include ‘Future Foundations, ‘Walk-in Studio,’ and ‘Build & Grow. She has also been a resident artist at esteemed institutions such as Space 118 and The Piramal Art Foundation in Mumbai. In addition to her artistic practice, Sareena is passionate about art education and has conducted workshops with various organizations, including The Kiran Nader Museum of Art, Art 1st Foundation, and the Mohile Parikh Center Mumba. Sareena Khemka currently resides and works in Bangalore, where she continues to create thought-provoking and visually captivating artwork, pushing the boundaries of her artistic expression.

Astha Patel is a visual artist based in Vadodara, Gujarat. She draws inspiration from topics related to nature ecology and memory. Her practice primarily involves oil on canvas works, and tempera, gouache and watercolour on paper. She completed her Master’s in Visual from the Faculty of Fine Arts at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara in 2022. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from the same institution. In 2017 she received an ERASMUS Scholarship and completed a semester at The Universidad de Politecnica de Valencia, Spain 2017. In 2019 a collaborative project that she worked on with Pranshu Thakore, Rahi De Roy, and Savitha Ravi was displayed by the Tate Collective. She has also been a part of Residency Programmes at Space Studio Summer Residency, Vadodara 2021, as well as the Students’ Biennale at the Kochi Muziris Biennale. In 2023 she collaborated with the Mumbai-based luxury apparel brand, Aroka.

Vijaya Chauhan received her postgraduate in sculpture from Indirakala Sangeet University, Khairagarh, Chhattisgarh (2011). She was awarded ‘Kalasankranti Puraskar National Award. Vijaya’s practice is inspired by her experiences with learning braille, her works often include encoded messages in the same. Each work invites the viewer to engage both visually and through its tactile nature. She currently lives and works between New Delhi and Vadodara with her husband and son.

Tarini Sethi is a New Delhi-based artist. Tarini holds a BA in Political Science from Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi, and a BFA in Drawing from Pratt Institute, New York. Her artistic practice explores themes like human intimacy, body consciousness, and sexuality, and draws from folklore and mythology through a multimedia practice that includes paintings, drawings, and metal sculptures. Sethi has been featured in Architectural Digest India and many other Indian publications and has been a part of design shows like the Mumbai Urban Arts Festival, as well as solo exhibitions at the IIC Gallery and Chemould Colab. As a woman from India, existing in a space of extreme sexual oppression and constant scrutiny, she tries to focus as much as possible on the idea that bodies can exist as perfect vessels for exploration, action and sexual emancipation. In the world she creates, bodies are freed from the ideas attached to the conventional notion of gender, perfection and beauty. She is the Founder and Curator of The Irregulars Art Fair and has exhibited across the world.