SAREENA ​KHEMKA

paintings by sareena khemka 8Th Island of Mumbai Discriminates 12 Ft x 4 Ft Triptych, Mixed media on Canvas, Mumbai 2014 The 8th Island Detail 1 Panel 1 of 3 4ft x 4 ft The 8th Island Detail 2 Panel 2 of 3, 4 Ft x 4 Ft The 8th Island Detail 3 Panel 3 of 3, 4 Ft x 4 Ft Elevated Within Lost Foundations Mixed Media on Canvas 38" x 28" x 2," Mumbai 2014 Elevated Within lost Foundations Detail 1 875 Square Inches of the City Mixed Media on Canvas 38" x 28" x 2," Mumbai 2014 Gates to Heaven Mixed media on canvas 5ft x 3ft x 2," Mumbai 2014 Gates to Heaven Detail Mapping the terrain 1 Drawing on old stamp paper from Rajasthan with found text (dated approx. 125 years old) 14" x 9" 2013 Mapping the Terrain 3 Mixed media on an old map of India. 16" x 10," Mumbai 2013 Mapping the Terrain 5 Mixed media on Nepalese paper, 15" x 11," Mumbai 2014 THE 8TH ISLAND OF MUMBAI DISCRIMINATES These series of works based on Bombay, tell narratives of a city through its architectural history, following a similar colour palette of browns, greys, copper, blue & white. The blue shapes & colour represent the slums, being synonymous with the tarp covers that make the roofs of the slum housing. Specs of orange painted in some of the works are symbolic of the political influence in the city. Several of the works such as 'Gates to Heaven' and 'The 8th Island Discriminates,' are a comment on the gated communities that lure people with tag lines such as "Reside in new heights of happiness". Being self-sufficient like small kingdoms they hide the poverty, disparity and filth that surrounds them and promise a better life. A few of the works such as 'Elevated within new foundations,' and '875 square inches of the city,' reference old and new architecture with geometric lines, patterns and shapes interconnecting to reflect an urban space. Motifs and patterns of Indian design are block printed and painted on contrasted with contemporary designs that reflect the rich culture of the country and my biography as an artist, with the series of works such as 'mapping the terrain,' created on old maps and stamp paper.

painting by sareena khemka Mapping the Terrain 7 Mixed media on paper 53" x 39" Mumbai 2017 Mapping the terrain 7 Detail 1 Mapping the terrain 7 Detail 2 Mapping the terrain 7 Detail 3 Mountains in Mumbai 7 5ft x 3ft Mixed media on paper Mumbai 2014 Mountains in Mumbai 7 Detail 1 Mountains in Mumbai 7 Detail 2 Mountains of Mumbai 6 Mixed media on paper 10" x 18" Mumbai 2014 Mountains of Mumbai 5 Mixed media on paper 10" x 18" Mumbai 2014 Mountains of Mumbai 3 Mixed media on paper 10" x 18" Mumbai 2014 Mountains of Mumbai 4 Mixed media on paper 10" x 18" Mumbai 2014 Mountains of Mumbai 2 Mixed media on paper 10" x 18" Mumbai 2014 Based on loose maps of Mumbai, these works draw influence from the art deco architecture of the city that co-exists with dense urban colonies of slums and tall skyscrapers that are abstracted and flattened into interconnecting geometric shapes.Organic forms that flow and seep into cracks and crevasses morphing into different patterns and shapes, are derived from imagery of decaying matter that forms islands and hills in the city of waste. This is contrasted with shimmering colours and landscapes that have been inspired by rock crystals sold on the streets of the city that resemble a microcosm of dense urban colonies and strive to find their space in these built landscapes. This dichotomous nature of the city and its various influences are depicted through these works, through identifiable forms of architecture, its dense urban spaces that exist amidst visible contradictions. Mapping The Terrain

fragmentsofearth1 fragmentsofearth1detail3 IMG_20220823_160505 copy Future relics (1) Detail view 2 Detail of stone front view Future relics (1) side view Future relics (1) Detail view 1 Detail of back stone with grown copper sulphate crystals. Future relics (1) Back view Resin on cement with scrap metal, metal dust, ink and grown copper sulphate crystals. Installation size: 11.5" x 10" x 8"x 1" (approx.) Future relics (1) Detail view 3 Detail of stone back view grown copper sulphate crystals, resin, ink and metal dust on cement. Future relics (1) Detail view 4 Detail of grown copper sulphate crystals Future relics (2) Detail view 2 resin on casted cement with found tile and pigment powder Future relics (2) Detail view 3 resin on casted cement with ink and metal dust Half- built spaces, crumbling structures, live on after us as fragments reminding us of the loss of perfection. Construction sites that at times remain always in progress, abandoned, in the hopes of being completed someday. In such spaces, various forms of growth merge and overlap with built environments creating unusual landscapes that combine the natural and manmade, seeping into the cracks atop many surfaces to regenerate and preserve parts, while others deteriorate. These mixed media pieces seek to map out, forms of biological and manufactured environments, that fall within the gaps of dichotomous thoughts between construction and destruction, temporality and permanence, organic and the inorganic; specific to no particular geographical area, merging layers of multiple metropolitan cities that can be rearranged in diverse configurations, making it adaptable to multiple ways of seeing. The stark dichotomy of urban landscapes are visible within the glitzy modernised buildings of today that stand in contrast to the architectural and material decomposition seen within cities. Images of construction and unfinished, demolished or derelict edifices are not unique to a particular city or space, but a common feature in the face of urban sprawl. Robert Smithson , an American painter wrote that ruins are ‘dynamic’ calling them ‘dialectical landscapes’ that are deep-rooted in the ‘geological past and a catastrophic future,’ where, these spaces are stuck somewhere in the middle of building and decaying, hence creating modern relics that do not follow a specific chronological time, as they belong to both the past and the future. Cities like nature have a life cycle, where they germinate, grow, flourish, explode and then start to wither, crumble, deteriorate and eventually either die or regenerate. Similarly all objects even if they hold no inherent value in our present, eventually evolve to a new version of itself, becoming relics given enough time, begging the question of what is of vital significance in our present-day to preserve and what is to be left to take its natural course. As an ever expanding metropolis, these works are not only reminiscent of the loss and the pathos of decay and desolation but also give the hope of growth and regeneration, in turn compelling the viewer to interpret the city from varied perspectives. Future Relics Of Pasts Forgotten Bangalore Design Week 2018, Site specific installation Future Relics : Installation Image Future Foundations, Walk-in Studio, ( Bangalore, 2019) Right View Future Relics : Installation Image Left View Future Relics Of Pasts Forgotten Detail 1 Detail of Led lights embedded in casted resin and cement stones and resin pillars. Future Relics : Installation Image Future Foundations, Walk-in Studio, ( Bangalore, 2019) Right View 1/5 Installation image, 'Future Foundations', (group show) Walk-in Studio, 2019 Bangalore (Slide to see more)

sareena khemka biography RESUME EDUCATION Bachelor of Fine Arts 2007 The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, U.S.A & 2004 Kala Bhavan, Visva Bharati Univ. Santiniketan, India 2006 Painting & Drawing Studio, International School of Painting, Drawing & Sculpture, Umbria, Italy 2001- '02 Painting & Drawing Studio, Triveni Kala Sangam, New Delhi, India EXHIBITIONS 2019 ‘Future Foundations: Time & Space ,’ Immersive installation, Walk-in Studio, Bangalore, India 2018 ‘Art Exhibit ’, India Story, Kolkata, India 2018 ‘Build & Grow ,’ Urban art & science lab & sculptural installation, Bangalore Design week, India 2017 'Once Upon a time in Black & White ,' Art Centrix Space, New Delhi, India 2016 ‘Introspective Revelation s,’ Gallery Veda, Chennai, India 2016 ‘Scape & Scope ,’ Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai, India 2015 India Art Fair Co - Lateral Show, Art Konsult, New Delhi, India, India 2014 ‘Mapping Detours ,’ Chitrakoot Art Gallery, Kolkata, India (group show) 2012 ‘Allegories’ , Art Konsult, New Delhi, India (group show) 2010 SAARC Art Show, Tarayana Art Center & Centennial Hall, Thimpu, Bhutan (group show) 2007 Undergraduate Exhibition, G2 Gallery, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, U.S.A (group show) 2006 ‘Cities Apart ,’ Genesis Art Gallery, Calcutta, India (solo show) 2006 Student Show, International School of Drawing, Painting & Sculpture, Italy (group show) FAIRS/ FESTIVALS/AUCTION 2015 Art & Deal inaugural auction, Metropolitan hotel, New Delhi, India 2014 Art Bengaluru, Bangalore, India 2014 ‘Deep Skin: Skin Deep ,’ curated by Mayank Mansigh Kaul, Art Chennai, India 2013 United Art Fair, curated by Peter Nagy, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, India 2012 'The Human Spill, ' (sculptural installation) Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, Mumbai, India RESIDENCY/ART CAMP 2016 Piramal Art Residency, Mumbai, India 2013 Space 118, Mumbai, India 2010 Space 118, Mumbai, India 2011-12 Space 118, Mumbai, India 2010 SAARC Art Camp, Tarayana Art Center, Thimpu, Bhutan 2010 - present 2010 - present

fragments1 fragments1(sideview) fragments1backview fragments1detail fragmentsdetail3 Fragments I Avenir Light is a clean and stylish font favored by designers. It's easy on the eyes and a great go-to font for titles, paragraphs & more. IMG_20220823_160929 fragments1detail2 fragments2(detail2) Fragments II Avenir Light is a clean and stylish font favored by designers. It's easy on the eyes and a great go-to font for titles, paragraphs & more.

landscapeofloss landscapeoflossanddecay_detail4 liminalscapes1-detail3 landscapeoflossanddecay_detail2 landscapeoflossanddecay_detail3 Landscape of Loss Avenir Light is a clean and stylish font favored by designers. It's easy on the eyes and a great go-to font for titles, paragraphs & more. liminalscapes1 liminalscapes1-detail2 Describe your image liminalscapes1-detail1 Describe your image liminalscapes1 1/3 Liminal Scapes liminalscapes2 liminalscapes2-detail1 Describe your image liminalscapes2-detail2 Describe your image liminalscapes2 1/4 The work draws on the process of deep mapping using imagery from memory and imagination of aerial maps from dense urban cities such as Bombay, interspersed with imagery of natural rock crystals to create a dichotomous space. Drawing the space was akin to navigating the streets, through its nooks and crannies of various turns and bends, where one needs to delve further and lose oneself, much like one would, navigating the city. Making the work was as much a process of navigating metaphysical spaces within the mind as it was visualizing physical ones. In between the Cracks & Fissures faultlines_2 faultlines_2b faultlines1 copy faultlinesdetail1 faultlines1detail

Mountains in Mumbai, Mixed Media on paper, 6ft. x 5ft. Mumbai 2011. Mountains in Mumbai 1 Mixed media on paper. 6ft x 5ft. Mumbai 2012. Mountains in Mumbai 1 Detail 1 Mountains in Mumbai 1 Detail 2 Mountains in Mumbai 1 Detail 3 MOUNTAINS OF MUMBAI The title of this work is repeated in several other works to come in different forms and colours, commenting on the idea of a mountain - a natural landscape and what that may mean in the context of a built up urbanised city. Natural formations such as hills and mountains are replaced by heaps of decaying matter and take up a new meaning of a landscape. The study of decaying forms that lie in dumpsites through the city forms the mountains in this work and is a study of those forms. With layered drawings and collage that build up this vast space, along with illegible text on a small excerpt on 'filth' that is meant not be discerned, the work questions our perception of landscapes and subverts its idea through these man-made forms.