Vanita Gupta

While referring to her work, artist Vanita Gupta says, “I believe in the ardent need to paint, nothing more nothing less.” This single statement explains how, although minimal, Gupta’s work is always complete. The dynamics of her images, however, are constantly evolving; she experiments with size and texture but the solid white background on which her paintings are mounted remains constant.

Gupta’s monochromatic compositions, rendered almost fluidly with her masterly brushwork, leave the viewer captivated by their Zen-like quality. Since her first solo show in 1994, Gupta has worked assiduously towards mastering the multiple techniques by which paint may be applied onto a surface. In her more recent works, the viewer can instantly recognize her command over mark making techniques and the effortless way in which she now maneuvers between speed and patience, discovery and concealment. Her brushstrokes, varying from a drip to a splash or draggle, suggest a deep intimacy between solidity and the ambiguous nature of liquids.

Vanita Gupta was born in 1971. She studied Fine Arts at L.S. Raheja School of Art, Mumbai, from where she graduated in 1992. She has had a number of solo shows and has participated in select group exhibitions, the more recent being those held at the Gallery in Redchurch Street, London, in 2007; Pundole Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 2006 and 2004; Gallery Threshold, New Delhi, in 2006, 2005, 2004 and 2002; the National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai, in 2004; and Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 2002, 1998 and 1994. The artist has also exhibited at ArtSingapore fair in 2006. Alliance Francaise (New Delhi, 2005) and Jehangir Art Gallery (Mumbai, 2002, 1998, 1994). Gupta has also shown as part of group shows at Palatte Art Gallery, New Delhi (2005), National Gallery of Modern Art, 50 Years of Art in Bombay (1997), Mumbai, Women 96, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, Bombay Art Society (1992), New Delhi and Ahmedabad. Gupta lives and works in Mumbai.