On walking by Lake Michigan and other things....
It has been over 25 years since I first gazed at the waters of Lake Michigan and thought that it looked like the ocean I had just crossed! I had come following love, and with hopes of going to art school, being an artist and having a family. Life mixed the order of things in complicated ways but ultimately made me richer in family, friends, education and work. Walking by Lake Michigan is still my favorite activity and it is my mental studio outside of my physical studio.... I find peace, stillness and most of all ideas and resolutions to things I am working on in the studio and in life. Something in the waters I guess!
I have been putting in long hours in the studio and now I am eager to share the work. I am so pleased to update everyone on what is coming up for me in the next few weeks and months. As you get ready to chart your route for gallery night on July 22nd and gallery day July 23rd, I hope you visit Dean Jensen Gallery. I am honored to be included in a show titled Drawing, Broadly Speaking: Current Tendencies in the Oldest Art along with some amazing artists! I look forward sharing a participatory video installation and ephemeral drawings among other things.
Also stop by the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and see Material Girls a three person show with Denver based artist Sabin Aell, Nina Ghanbarzadeh and myself. Nina and I had a show in Hinterland Art Space run by Sabin last year and we are so glad to have her show with us at MIAD this summer! The show explores the way we use materials in experimental and unique ways to express our individual content. There is a reception on gallery day, the 23rd from 2-5pm with an artist's talk at 3:00pm. Please join us and visit the exhibition while it is up till mid September.
This August, I will be installing a solo show titled Sifting at University of Wisconsin Parkside's Fine Art Gallery. This exhibition will include a collection of my work over the last few years in addition to new work. Do stop by the gallery on your way to Chicago or back. The opening reception is on September 22nd and will be up till October 20th. This will give me a great chance to revisit my older work in new ways and understand consistent forms and themes- an incredible opportunity to dig deeper into the work.
I am also part of a thought provoking show curated by John Schuerman and Katayoun Amjadi at Instinct Gallery in Minneapolis. Titled Transplant Eyes, "this exhibit brings together artists from around the world, working in a range of media and with differing aesthetic styles to share their art-stories of adaptation. For the viewer it is a chance to share empathically, learn and appreciate. Art has a way of opening the doors of perception into the lives of its subjects and the artists that created them."- Shuerman. The show opens on September 10th with an evening reception and ends October 22nd. Do check it out if you are in the Minneapolis area but it also travels to the Walkers Point Center for the Arts in Milwaukee next summer- a wonderful way to connect the two cities and present a multicultural perspective in the midwest!
I am invited to be part of a show that is similar in spirit at the Lindsay Dirkx Brown Gallery in San Ramon California, curated by Pallavi Sharma. Titled Liquid Stories, "brings the works of visual artists who take great freedom to explore their subjects in a state of flux. They constantly grapple with the depiction of intricate narratives, which move along with the human mind and body, in the form of memories and experiences."- Sharma. This show opens October 8th at 2:00pm.
My work at RedLine Milwaukee continues.... I am so fortunate to have a studio space in a warm and friendly community at RedLine. As AIR chair this year, I've had the opportunity to get to know each of the residents better and conducting professional development workshops every month. It has been a fun learning experience and now, this year culminates with the annual TimeLine show that opens on gallery night July 22nd as well! The work in the studios at RedLine has been exciting and rich and all the emerging artists are ready to share this work with a promising show at RedLine that is not to be missed. One more stop for all of you to make!
Yes, its been a busy time but I am also incredibly grateful for these opportunities and the interest in my work. As an artist, that is the best gift to receive- an audience that is interested, engaged and connects with the work!
See you around art!
In gratitude,
Nirmal