“The import of a work of art – its essential, or artistic, import – can never be stated in discursive language. A work of art is an expressive form, and therefore a symbol, but not a symbol which points beyond itself so that one’s thought passes on to the concept symbolized.” – Susanne K. Langer in “Problems of Art”
I do not know to which nation I belong but I do know that it does not matter. I feel as much an American as an Indian (East Indian for those in love with categorizations and definitions), and more so a human. A passage translated from the Tamil poem “Every village is ours” written by Kaniyan Poonkunran (1 st century BC) captures this more effectively:
Every village, our own
Everyone, related to us
Good and evil, both
Created by us
Pain and liberation
The same for all
I have now lived in America longer than I have lived in India. The past in me experienced painting and other creative activities as a joyful expression with no specific purpose or intent. And that feeling still lingers in the way I paint, print, or create today. The product, the painting or the print, has a visual language that reflects my past. It is part of the life I live now and lived until now, part India part America.
Education
The Arts Students League, New York, NY
The Yard School of Art, Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, NJ
PhD, Chemical Engineering, Penn State University, PA
B. Tech, Chemical Engineering, Osmania University, India
Select Exhibitions
The Arts Students League Red Dot Exhibition, New York, NYJuly 2023
Salmagundi Club Juried Printmaking Show (2nd Prize)2022
The Arts Students League Red Dot Exhibition, New York, NYJuly 2022
The Arts Students League Annual Exhibition, New York, NY1999 – Present
Visual Aids Postcards from the Edge Show, NY, NY 2004 – Present
Galleria West, Westfield, NJ (American Cancer Society)2005
Selected for the SANA Calendar (sanaonline.com)2004
American Iconography, Times Square Lobby Gallery, 255 W. 43rd St, NewYork, NY 2003
Spontaneous Art, Times Square Lobby Gallery, 255 W. 43rd St, NewYork, NY 2003
Williamsburg Art & Historical Center, Brooklyn, NY2001
The Language of Vision, Watchung Arts Center, Watchung, NJ 2001
Juried Exhibit, Freeholders Gallery, Elizabeth, NJ 2000
Juried Union County Arts Exhibit (2nd Prize), Arts Guild of Rahway, Rahway, NJ 2000
Barry’s Frame Shop, Scotch Plains, NJ 2000
United National Bank, Fanwood, NJ 2000
