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About the artist
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Statement
of Intent
"In Indian culture any kind of art work is considered both a gift from, and an offering to the divine maker. As such these expressions of devotion are more subject to varied interpretations than to an elaboration of a single-minded design. Having said that, my work has been described as a blend of South Asian ethic art and modern art. I now live by the Mississippi, but the sights and sounds of India continue to haunt me. I am ever conscious of the paradox that is Asia, its poverty and opulence, its irresistible urge for modernization and its equally determined resolve to retain tradition. I started painting at the age of three, and through the growing years of increasing awareness, this paradox has not only persisted but acquired a new lease in my painting since coming to the United States. Perhaps my work now reflects this unceasing encounter with the unknown, the constant need to adjust and re-adjust, and coax fluidity into an inner core which must withstand as well as absorb. Such imagery as I depict are all mine. On the advice of a Professor of the School of Art at Trivandrum (Kerala, India) who assessed my work as early as my pre-school days, my parents kept me away from any formal stylized art instruction.
We now live in Memphis, Tennessee, where Jayaram is an Attorney and where my sons Sanjeev and Sreedhar were born." |
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My
parents treated my absorption in painting seriously. Encouragement and
support formed a constant bedrock in my school days that I was barely
conscious of my privilege. That parental support was picked up through my
brief career in the Civil Service of India. And now without the continued
encouragement and understanding of my husband, not to speak of my two sons
aged twelve and seven, no attempt at any self expression would have been
possible.