mia gulati
contemporary abstract art
I like my paintings to be bold, colourful and full of life. Growing up in India and being influenced by Hindu philosophy I believe that my paintings refer to the sphere of spiritual, ritualistic and meditative states but yet paradoxically embody movement and energy. The artworks map imaginary places and states of mind which I access intuitively and emotionally.
I view my works as ‘poetic spaces and places’ suggestive of another world that slowly reveal themselves to the viewer.
My work consists of large paintings on paper and canvas; constructed, or built with colour, layer upon layer with large thick brushstrokes. I use colour as form rather then just a decorative element. The use of colour and its contrasting tones sets up the dynamic interplay of the forms.
I like to experiment with paint making processes and my works document the complex web of brushstrokes and linear patterns that I engage with. I compress my forms and images onto the picture plane to create a kind of potential energy space that is barely contained by the rectangle of the canvas.
I look at the function of the wall as a site where my paintings are realised and completed; yet the paintings suggest an infinite, incomplete place which can be imagined beyond the frame and beyond the wall surface. Interwoven throughout these issues in my work are the larger issues surrounding the use of ‘surface’ and ‘space’ in contemporary art.
I take inspiration from many visual sources but I am particularly inspired by aboriginal art, abstract expressionism and contemporary Indian art.
exhibitions
2007 - 'Satial Symphonies' Travancore Gallery, New Delhi
2010 - Group Exhibition - Found Art Collective at Hackney Wicked Art Festival, London