MANISHA GERA BASWANI

She has exhibited in solo shows at the Shridharani Gallery, Triveni, Delhi (1994,1998), in Bombay with Gallery Chemould (2000) and in Madras with Apparao Galleries (2001). She has also participated ingroup shows in Amsterdam, Dubai and Berlin. In 1999, she was invited to lecture at the National College of Art, Lahore and Indus Art College, Karachi. She has worked as the As Creative Director on Gita-Govinda, the multi-media joint project by IGNCA, India and Xerox, USA, designing the range of art motifs and icons. This path breaking fusion of culture and technology continues to travel to leading institutions of the world.

“Painting is the ambrosia for the mind,” says Manisha, for whom the act of painting is a 360-degree exercise allowing for meditative time, structured discipline and immense personal gratification. Ramachandran, one of the leading contemporary masters, is Manisha's guru and greatest inspiration. Her early works comprised imagery one found in Indian miniatures and Buddhist murals, that she abstracted to evoke the expression of a contemporary context. A global citizen Manisha is equally at home with Hollywood, MTV and icons such as James Bond and Elvis. Her recent body of work brought together her earlier engagement with icons, heritage and spaces, by creating relief backdrops by placing different surfaces against each other.

She explored 'space' with this recent series, exhibited at Gallery Chemould, inspired by her visits to heritage sites and palaces in India, in particular, the 'Sheesh Mahal' in the Red Fort of Agra. Old havelli's and palaces carry particular motifs and decorative architectural details like jharokas, jaalis or latticework, and inlay work, that tends to create an element of 'hide-and-seek', which is experienced by the viewer walking through room after room. She used particular materials to mimic this architectural effect. The interplay with the Sikishi board, for instance, (a Japanese art material made from fine handmade papers laminated to hard board backing and traditionally used for Sumi painting, haiku, calligraphy, and watercolor painting) creates a split surface and adds visual dimension, wherein mounts and frames cease to be mere props and become extensions of the work itself. Another material used is the Sanjhi jaali with mirror attached behind it, the entire form inviting the viewer to engage and self-reflect.

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