About
For nearly two decades, my work has engaged the contemporary Indian landscape as a place where rapid development collides with ecological time. I approach climate change not as an abstract headline, but as a crisis of relationship: a way of living that treats land and water as resources while shifting the consequences onto the vulnerable — future generations, displaced communities, and the more-than-human world.
Formally, my painting technique is shaped by a dialogue between Indian miniature painting and Western painting. Miniature traditions carry a deep commitment to storytelling and careful detail — especially in the figures and elements that populate a scene. I bring that narrative spirit into my own practice, building paintings that “hold” a concept or issue and invite the viewer to read the image slowly.
Working primarily in oil on canvas and mixed media, I use layered surfaces and direct brushwork as a form of slow witness. I do not aim for academic perspective or polished illusion; instead, I create spaces where beauty and damage, intimacy and loss can coexist. My paintings insist on interconnectedness — reminding us that the fate of landscape and the fate of people are inseparable.
Born 1974 in West Bengal, India. Lives and works in Spain.
Korea Residency
Yeonseok Mountain Museum, South Korea · 2019
During my artist residency at Yeonseok Mountain Museum in South Korea, I performed and recited Rabindranath Tagore’s river poem, and found respite in it. Tagore described rivers as the cradle of human life — where civilization has always settled since ancient times. But growing up in Kolkata, I missed that bond. Rapid development had stolen our river from us.
In Korea, by the quiet waters, I finally understood what Tagore saw: a river that cleanses, nurtures, and heals. The similarity moved me deeply.
We must save our rivers. Only when they are clean can we live healthy lives — body, mind, and soul.
CV
Education
- 2002
- M.F.A., Faculty of Fine Arts, MS University Vadodara, India
- 1999
- B.V.A., Govt. College of Art & Craft, Kolkata, India
- 1994
- B.A., Victoria Institution, Kolkata, India
Grants, Awards & Residencies
- 2019
- Yeonseok Mountain Art Museum Artist Residency, South Korea
- 2017
- Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, USA
- 2015
- Camac Residency, France (granted by Artist Pension Trust)
- 2013
- PHKR Artist Fellowship Residency, Basel, Switzerland
- 2012
- Elizabeth Greenshields Grant, Canada
- 2003
- Gujarat Lalit Kala Award
- 2002
- AIFACS Award (State Level)
- 2001–2003
- National Scholarship, Ministry of Tourism & Culture, Govt. of India
- 1998
- College Award, Annual Exhibition, Govt. College of Art & Craft
- 1997
- Certificate of Merit, Govt. College of Art & Craft
Solo Exhibitions
- 2019
- Streamlet of Essence Melody, Yeonseok Mountain Museum of Art, Wanju-gun, South Korea
- 2013
- Only in India, Stellwerk Atelier, Basel, Switzerland
- 2012
- Metaphorical Association of Self, Kumar Gallery, New Delhi, India
- 2009
- Earth Calling, Sarjan Art Gallery, Baroda, India
- 2003
- Dreams & Desires, Gorky Sadan Kolkata / Gallery-g Bangalore / Bajaj Art Gallery Mumbai, India
- 2001
- Speech of Silence, Arts Core Gallery, Baroda, India
Selected Group Exhibitions
- Recycling Story 2020 / Age of Reflection, PyeongChang ARTccc, Gangwon Art & Culture Foundation, South Korea
- YSMA FamilyShip, Yeonseok Mountain Museum of Art, South Korea
- Monsoon Art Fest Online, Kottayam Art Foundation, India
- ASYAAF Hidden Art Festival, Hongik University Contemporary Art Museum (LVS Gallery), South Korea
- GimHae Biennale International Art Festival, Yoonseul Art Gallery, GimHae City, South Korea
- International Recycling Story, Gangneung Art Centre, Gangwon-do, South Korea
- Three Life Place Show, Yeonseok Mountain Museum, South Korea
- Nu-e Art Space Gallery and Jeollabuk Museum of Art, Wanju-gun, South Korea
- International Monsoon Art Fest, Kerala Museum Art Gallery, Ernakulam, India
- Bengal Panorama, Janus Art Gallery at Nehru Art Center, Mumbai, India
- Group Show by Raina Bente, Art Basel Center, Basel, Switzerland
- Platographic Expressions, ICAC India (Mumbai, Baroda, Ahmedabad)
- The Bird Project, Baroda Open Studio, India
- ART 507, Seoul, South Korea
- INCH Contemporary, Inch Gallery, Basel, Switzerland
- Seoul Open Art Fair, KOEX, Seoul, South Korea
- Engendered Art Gallery, New Delhi, India
- VADFEST, Govt. of Gujarat & Gujarat Tourism, Vadodara, India
- Women Times, Korean Cultural Centre, New Delhi, India
- Hanji Plus, Korean Cultural Centre, New Delhi, India
- Young India, Lleshi Art, St. Moritz, Switzerland
- Windows for India, PHKR, Basel, Switzerland
- Asian Young Artists, Gallery Lexington, Busan, South Korea
- Asian Students and Young Artist Art Festival, Gallery LVS, Seoul, South Korea
- Festive Springs, Mirage Art Gallery, Kolkata, India
- Dream Interpretation, Chaitanya Art Gallery, Cochin, India
- Purva, Hutheesingh Gallery, Ahmedabad, India
- Purva, Faculty of Fine Arts, Vadodara, India
- Group Show, Ahmedabad ki Gufa, Ahmedabad, India
- I, Me, Myself, Kashi Art Gallery, Cochin, India
- Group shows in Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai
Group exhibitions across India since 2001 (Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bangalore — full list available on request)
Represented in private collections in India and abroad.