Fantasy and Folklore: Paintings of Chitra Ganesh

Brooklyn-born artist chitra ganesh unique blend of mythological, religious, political and popular imagery stems from her summer trips to India growing up. She rubs shoulders with millennial statues and paintings alongside advertisements, graffiti, film posters and comic strips. She started bringing things home from her travels and putting them together, every detail in conversation with those next to it. This prompted his initial artistic process to create traditional collage pieces.

Since then, Ganesh has earned an MFA from Columbia University and has shown his art around the world. His paintings, animations, installations and murals have been exhibited in galleries and institutions such as the Brooklyn Museum, Rubin Museum, MoMA PS1 and others across the United States, Europe and South Asia. South.

Ganesh’s work incorporates Buddhist and Hindu religious and folk iconography while drawing on feminist and queer scholarship, his dedication to political and social activism, and popular culture. In an interview with Ocula MagazineGanesh noted that for many middle- and lower-class immigrant families like his, the popular culture of their home country provides a “kind of bridge to the idea of ​​home.”

She also adds fantasy elements to much of her art to help viewers see themselves in characters they wouldn’t typically identify with, she said. Hyperallergic. When you remove some of the reality from a story, she said, people will feel more comfortable empathizing. Ultimately, she strives to add representations of femininity, sexuality, and power to the canons of literature and art where these themes have historically been absent.

In India, Ganesh has come across millennial statues and paintings alongside advertisements, graffiti, movie posters and comic books. This prompted his initial artistic process to create traditional collage pieces.

Ganesh adds fantasy elements to his art to make it easier for viewers to identify with characters other than those they typically see themselves in. When you remove some of the reality from a story, she says, people will feel more comfortable empathizing.