Archana Srivastava — Contemporary Art Curator Magazine

May 25

May 25 Archana Srivastava

Biography

Dr. Archana Srivastava is an artist deeply rooted in Indian culture and philosophy, who, in the last two decades, has experimented with different genres like figures, abstracts, landscapes and portraits. She holds a doctorate degree in Indian History, Culture and Archaeology.
With various solo and group exhibitions in reputed art galleries to her credit, her works are included in many prestigious private and public collections around the globe. Her esoteric portrayal of philosophical subjects of Bhagavad Gita, devotional renditions of Radha-Krishna and delineation of metaphysical aspects of Buddhism have won her accolades and awards like; “Nirdhar Woman-2002” in 2002, “Make in India” in 2018, “Woman of Excellence Award” in 2020.
She is based in Mumbai, India and working on her next exhibitions titled ‘Ibaadat’ and ‘Science Of Soul-A Vedic Perspective’ which will include paintings as well installations.

Artist Statement

Art for me is a subtle form of expression. A vision that makes intangible tangible, makes complex subjects seem simple, practical and adaptable. Owing to my conviction to portraying the suggestive, my art has always been thematic and message-oriented. Through my humble efforts, I try to delineate metaphorically, the non-obvious and allusive.

What first prompted you to think of becoming an artist?

I think it was not a thought, idea or plan which prompted me to become an artist. Since childhood I was passionate about art and art was like ‘Therepy’ to me. Born in a family which thrived on art and culture, it was an easy choice for me to draw, sketch, colour and paint. In early childhood days, I started drawing on slate (writing board), paper, walls and floors as soon as I could hold crayon or chalk in my hands. My family saw great potential in me and my parents would encourage me to draw/paint and to participate in school, district-level and regional competitions. Winning in such competitions encouraged me to paint more. I was a sincere student and excelled in academics. Often my study hours will get stretched and I would get exhausted, I would then draw on my practice notebook a face, figure, landscape or still life. As a result each of my practice notebook would have multiple figures and forms drawn on the last many pages. In fact often the pages with drawings would outnumber the pages with writings.

I was happy doing well in academics and pursuing art as well. My academic orientation helped me complete my Ph.D in History and I started teaching graduate and post-graduate students as guest faculty in various colleges and universities off and on.

As far as the art was concerned, formal training was never an issue as my elder sister is into serious painting and my mother is also an artist. Plus over the years I have had the good fortune of learning from national and international-level award-winning artists, professors of reputed art schools on one to one basis informally. They did teach me technicalities of art but asked me to remain original in my imagination. In fact, everyone of them without exception encouraged me to have my own style. Thus I am one of those fortunate souls who learnt everything about art without joining an art school full time. Gradually, guests and visitors visiting my home would look at paintings at my place and ask me to have a public display of my artworks. Encouraged by their persuasion, I booked a reputed art gallery in Mumbai in 1999 and started working diligently towards my first solo exhibition. The exhibition was very well-received and thus began my journey of professional artist. I took up art as my profession with great enthusiasm and gusto becoming a full-time artist and a part-time academician.

What kind of an artist do you ultimately see yourself?

I see myself as a sensitive artist aware of the challenges of the human existence.

Art for me is a subtle form of expression and a vision that makes intangible seem tangible, makes complex subjects seem simple, practical and adaptable. Owing to my conviction to portray the suggestive, my art has always been thematic and message-oriented. Through my humble efforts, I try to delineate metaphorically, the non-obvious and allusive.

Thus to communicate my thoughts I chose the style to be figurative composition since it gives me scope of illustrating my thoughts. I primarily work in oil medium as it gives one flexibility and scope of improvisation. In addition, oil paintings are long lasting and look rich.

What are you hoping to communicate to the viewer through your work?

Being spiritually-inclined, I have always seen living entities as spirits or souls beyond the cover of human/animal bodies. I have also maintained that attaining the pure/ blissful state of soul is the ultimate aim of human life. Since we as humans are blessed with advanced understanding (which animals lack), one must endeavour to realise this goal.

Through my art I try to portray these timeless, imperishable and intricate messages of Vedic philosophy that guide us to transcend the challenges of human existence and attain the state of pure bliss.

Can you explain the process of creating your work?

I prepare my canvas well, always using museum-quality anti-fungus canvas cloth. I work with oil medium which is slow to dry. My artworks have multiple layers of paint as it gives perspective and depth to the composition. To make the process faster, first few layers of the composition are in acrylic medium, which is fast to dry medium. On top of it I paint with oil colours.

What is your favourite part of the creative process?

My favourite part of creative process is conceptualisation, since there is no limit to your imagination. First few hours of rendering is the most challenging part since it is difficult to translate your thoughts into shapes and forms and there is a limit to bringing abstract thoughts into tangible forms and portray them metaphorically. Once the pace is set, things are easy. Then comes the most favourite part of touching it up when the painting is complete.

Can you give us an insight into current projects and inspiration, or what we can look forward to from you in the near future?

I am currently working on my next solo exhibition ‘Science Of Soul-A Vedic Perspective’ which will include paintings as well as installations. After painting for decades and portraying my ideas in 2D, I feel like going 3D with installations delineating ideas through self-contained arrangement of forms, enveloping the spectator in the space of the work.

Website https://www.archanasrivastava.com/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/archanasrivastava_artist/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Dr-Archana-Srivastava-495988207256156/