Artists Directory > Sharmila Mohandas
"Since the begining of my dialogue as an artist, I have always felt the urge to paint the human form - and through these tangible images, express the vicissitudes of the human subconscious.
The intensity of my work arises from the conscious mind exploring the inscrutable depth of the unconscious. These recurring images that flow through my mind take the form of surrel and inanimate objects. They also stand out as sensitive yet energised and powerful forces.
The present series of works explores the idea of the "Red Queen" - a formidable woman who runs like the wind but never seems to get anywhere.
"Well, in our country said Alice, still panting a little, you'd generally get to somewhere else - if you ran very fast for a long time, as we've been doing.
A "slow sort of country", said the queen. "Now here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run atleast twice as fast as that".
The world keeps coming back to where it started; change there is, but no progress.
"Power and desire are not fixed things 'out there': they exist, they hide in representations.
The complex symbolic role of the artist, is not simply a sub-species of the specialist - professional, but a distinct type of person, someone who supposedly gives access to the 'truth' of our 'nature', the measure of individualist identity at its most extreme".
-Sharmila Mohandas
Bio -data
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Sharmila Mohandas
1967 : Born Madras, India
1987 : Received Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art from the Govt.
College of Arts & Craft, Madras
Exhibition ( Selected )
2004 : “Red Queen”
One Person Show, Art World
2004 : Fine Art of Exchange ( Group Dhow for Charity )
Time & Space Gallery, Bangalore
2003 : Together with artist Cathy Valley, “Mythic Realms”
The York Square Cinema Gallery, New Haven, CT, USA
1997 : State Exhibition at Lalit Academi, Regional Center Madras
Workshops
1998 : Participated in a Portrait Workshop at Abacus Montessori School, Madras
1999 : Conducted painting workshop (water colors) for children
at the Easel Art Gallery, Madras
1999 : Conducted Portrait & Landscape workshop (Oil on Canvas) for adults at
the Easel Art Gallery, Madras
Commissions
1992 : Portrait of the Founder – SOS Children’s Village, Madras
1993 – 1997 : Work executed for private clients from USA, Germany and England
Experiences / Outlook
1982 – 2002 : Traveled widely and visited many Art Galleries & Museums in Europe &
United States of America
2003 : Artist in residence, Baltimore, MD, USA
As Art Promoter / Artist
1994 – 2002 : Established the Easel Art Gallery in the year 1994 and curated shows of
significant Indian & Foreign Artists at the gallery in Madras, India.
As a working artist in the studio annex of the Easel Art Gallery, Madras
Private Collections : Collections in India, Europe, USA
Studio
Sharmila Mohandas
10 Rutland Gate, 2nd Street,
Madras 600006
India.
Phone : (91 44) 28330788
Email : datty_su@yahoo.com
