My story

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How I began - I had moved to Hong Kong in 1999 at the age of 22, and got immediately enamoured by Chinese ink paintings. The  passion for art drove me to undertake formal training at the reputed Hong Kong Arts Centre in 2000, where I  learnt the Xie Yi or the freehand style of ink painting under Mr. Foo Sai Heng. The Xie Yi style of Chinese painting emphasise more on perfecting the brush strokes, to be able to express emotions. I continued my training till 2011. This was when a major turn took place in my life as I was diagnosed with a near-fatal Colon Cancer and decided to relocate to India. With the emotional and physical challenges present to me in these difficult times, I took refuge in art once again. In Dec 2013, I obtained a diploma in Fine arts, from an institute in Delhi NCR, which Helped me refine my artistic skills further. Cancer had not just taken away my physical energy, but my self confidence also. It compelled me to look within, to understand what I was, and how I wanted to spend my life further. Though I was broken, I wanted to create value wherever I was. And this helped me start my professional journey in art. 

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My professional Journey - It began as I participated in my first group exhibition at Epicentre, Gurugram, Delhi NCR in Dec 2013. This was the first of many shows, including the prestigious India Art Festival, Delhi and Mumbai. I had my first solo exhibition at India Habitat Center, Convention Foyer in 2019, where I displayed a collection of paintings I had created in 5 years - 2013-2018, mostly urban landscapes of cities like Jodhpur, Benares and Udaipur. Many of my paintings have found home in India and abroad. One of my “Jodhpur paintings” is displayed at the Max India Foundation office in Noida, Delhi NCR. 

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Creating value - My personal journey has helped me truly understand the intersections of mental health, education and art. To create value further and to give back to the society, I volunteered as an art therapist for chemotherapy patients at a prestigious Hospital in Delhi from 2017-2022. and still whenever I get a chance, I would do voluntary therapy sessions at hospital, schools, corporate, clubs or any other place where I can contribute. 

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Further, I also conduct regular art sessions at my studio in Gurgaon and have taught 100s of students. At present I have almost 40 students all ages, learning art from me.

Artist statement

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 Though my art journey started with my love for travel &  for my love for architecture, but in last 10 years, I’ve understood that painting helps me understand myself better.

I try to capture the essence of the city through colours and shapes, combining elements of Chinese painting and the fine art skills I learnt, to be able to simplify complicated structures into spontaneous brush strokes.

2020 onwards, I created many other series, under "Incredible India" umbrella- Woman series, Indian Turban series, the door series, 

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History of art also fascinates me, and I have studied many western and Indian artist. I completed a certificate online course called Post War Abstract Painting from MOMA, New York to understand Art better. The abstraction in my works is inspired by expressionist artists like SH Raza, FN Souza, Akbar Padamsee, Cezanne, Rothkos, Ram Kumar and also cubist works of Picasso And MF Husain. 

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