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Take risks & trust your intuition: Dhruvi Acharya

Dhruvi Acharya shares the influences that shaped her artistic journey.

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Acharya’s graceful paintings bear affinity with sources as diverse as the sexually and politically charged paintings of Lari Pittman, the elegant folios of the Indian miniatures, the florid-morbid imagery of Frida Kahlo, the goofy grin-girls of Takashi Murakami and the baroque surfaces of Gustav Klimt and other Jugendstil practitioners,” wrote artist Jitish Kallat in an essay summing up the artist’s incredible body of work.

Dhruvi Acharya has been dazzling the art galaxy with an unfailing regularity. Sometimes toying with the concept of Black Humour while other times exploring the realm of dual responsibilities or imbibing elements from Amar Chitra Katha comics — the multi-layered complexities of Dhruvi Achayra’s soul-searing works have eclipsed the art scene time and again. Who can remain untouched by her powerful portrayal of women getting snowed under by society’s expectations and battling gender politics?  

Working with the illustrious Grace Hartigan

“Grace was 76 when I joined the Graduate Program at MICA, and she was in every way deserving of being the director of one of the best and oldest art Schools in USA. A very strong personality, she minced no words, so you had to be sure to be able to back your choices, yet she was soft too — she had tears in her eyes when she saw what she considered my first masterpiece. I considered her to be my mentor,” she says.

Dhruvi shares the artistic influences which have shaped her. “The intricate details and flat perspective of Indian miniatures, the stylised drawings of Japanese Manga, the all-over aesthetics of American abstract expressionism — all have influenced my work,” she says.

Artistic growth
“The ability to challenge yourself and let go of work you have done that may have been considered successful, being willing to experiment, take risks and trust your intuition. Keeping abreast with work of your contemporaries and predecessors. My goal was never to create a unique language — it is always to be able to honestly convey my thoughts, feelings while being true to my aesthetics,” she says.

Influences that shaped me 
“During college, it was the work of Lari Pittman, and an exhibit on the Padshahanama at the Smithsonian, and after college I loved the work of Takashi Murakami and Barry McGee. Today, I love the work of many artists but I think inspirations and influences come from varied sources, not necessarily from the visual arts,” she says.

Her paintings are psychologically and visually layered. I’m keen to ask her what nourishes her art. “Life experiences, books I read and things I learn from the lives of others,” she says.

Work life balance
“I am usually in my studio 9 am - 4pm weekdays, and a bit erratic on weekends. But as a single parent (my husband filmmaker Manish Acharya passed away in 2010), errands often eat into that erstwhile sacred studio time. In 2011, I moved my studio into my home so now I work at night and over weekends, and yet be around for the boys.”

Spring board for inspiration

“When I have something to express, I am inspired to paint. I started painting my memories of home because I was so homesick after I moved to the US post marriage. And I wanted to learn more so I did my masters online painting — I hadn’t planned on becoming a professional painter. Guess I was lucky that galleries approached me to show my work — right from my MFA thesis show in the US,” she says.

Tussle between installation and canvas

“There is lots of new media art that is very exciting: Sound art, light art, installation art, conceptual art, performance art, digital art, web art, animation, claymation etc. And painting has been pronounced dead several times. Yet, painters continue to enjoy pushing boundaries on various two-dimensional surfaces, and viewers and collectors continue to enjoy the outcome,” she says.

Anish Kapoor and Subodh Gupta have gained a lot of attention of late. We wonder how she would rate the pricing. “I enjoy their work very much. No one is being forced to buy any artwork at any particular price,” she says.

Video art
“Video art is a great and complex medium of expression — just like good films. I am very impressed by Mathew Barney’s Cremaster series, and love the work of Pilpiotti Rist and Nathalie Djuberg. I do not think the saleability of good video art is an issue,” she adds.

Environmental concern

“I do what we can all do at a personal level: Consume less, re-use, recycle, conserve etc. But I also think our individual little drop in the giant ocean of environmental damage may be a bit too little too late, especially in this culture of consumerism and unprecedented use of disposable goods. This bleak world view of mine led to the creation of the works in my 2008 show One Life On Earth, where clean breathable air is grown/created, fought over and is not free. Pretty much like water today. I think now to effect a real change, governments of the world must pass and help implement laws for the use of solar or wind energy, rainwater harvesting, good and safe public transport, efficient storage of food, proper discarding of industrial effluents, efficient city waste management — the list can go on and on,” she says.

Besides art, Dhruvi enjoys travelling, unwinding with good films and books. “And when I don’t give in to laziness, swimming, yoga and running,” she adds.

Future of Indian art
“Exciting new art is being made by people of Indian origin. And commercially, with the recent correction in art prices, it can enter the global art market at competitive prices and gather even more international attention,” she signs off.

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