Gogi Saroj Pal
Gogi Saroj Pal (born 1945 in Neoli, Uttar Pradesh, India) is an eminent Indian artist. She works in many media, including gouache, oil, ceramic and weaving. Her works usually have women as their subject, and many of her paintings have a fantastical element that still comments on the female condition. Her early works were more realistic, but over time she has moved to simpler, more stylized paintings that have considerable impact. She has a diploma in painting from the College of Art in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India. Over the years she has had nearly 30 solo shows and won a number of awards including the National Award of the Lalit Kala Akademi. She also participated in a large number of group shows both in India and overseas: Yugoslavia, Germany, France, Cuba and Japan among others. Gogi's women appeared to be feminine, sensous, coquettish but they could equally be bovine, obdurate and slovenly. There was an element of dressing up but not with ornamentation or apparel. The nudity of her feminine figures, 'Nayikas' was fiercely commented on and debated over- was it part of the country's spiritual tradition or was she continuing to be the quintessential rebel? Gogi herself gave no explanations and paid little heed to controversies- She had her painting to get on with. Gogi Saroj Pal lives and works in New Delhi.
Navneet Raman
Navneet Raman started Kriti Gallery and Residency in Banaras in 2005. He is the director and curator of the gallery. Navneet founded the Banaras Cultural Foundation in 2015. Kriti Gallery and Banaras Cultural Foundation together work towards the promotion of cultural activities and the interaction of art and artists with the audience in Banaras. The Kriti Residency hosted, in the last 10 years, over 200 artists from around the world. Navneet is passionate about his city of Banaras, its preservation and ecology.
Vittoria Bonifati
Vittoria Bonifati graduated in Curating Contemporary Art from the Royal College of Art, London in 2017. She holds a BA in Art History from Università La Sapienza in Rome. In 2016 she opened a project space in London called My Parent's House. Recent curated shows are Robyn Beeche: Selected Works 1979 -1987, My Parent's House, London. Turn The Tide, Dyson Gallery, London. Brgy. South Kensington, My Parent's House, London. In 2015 she curated the 10 Year Book in collaboration with Kriti Gallery, Varanasi. Vittoria is part of Flat Time House board of trustees and collaborates with the Fondazione Dino e Ernesta Santarelli to create a bridge between ancient and contemporary art.
Daniel Connell
Daniel Connell studied part-time at Adelaide Central School of Art from 1997 to 2009 and has taught short courses in portraiture at the School since 2014. He has a Master of Visual Art and is currently a PhD candidate at UniSA, where he is investigating portraiture as a socially engaged practice.
Daniel has been a finalist in the Doug Moran Portrait Prize, The Waterhouse Natural Science Art Prize, and The Fleurieu Art Prize. He has undertaken multiple commissioned projects for SALA Festival and OzAsia Festival and was invited to exhibit in the second Kochi Muziris Biennale (KMB) of Contemporary Art when he also completed a residency with the KMB Foundation and Arts in Medicine program. Daniel has also been highly commended in the Australian Arts in Asia Awards.
As well as in Asia, India in particular, he has created public art projects in the UK, Europe, US and Canada. He holds degrees in Spanish Language and Latin American Studies, has a Diploma of Education and is currently studying Hindi language.
Daniel has been on the board of Nexus Arts and currently on the advisory round table for cultural diversity in the Women's and Children's Health network and also the working group for The Migration Asylum Refugee Research Network.
Swaroop Biswas
Swaroop Biswas An artist with wide range of creative skills combined with good acquired skills in people and process management is the best way to define Swaroop. With 15+ years of experience in User Experience, Communication Design through elearning, Publishing for Print & Web, National magazines, Advertising, web design and multimedia industries, he has a wide range of exposure towards different skills, requirements, techniques, mediums and cultures. Swaroop loves to work with and lead big teams. He is a good motivator and his theater skills help him greatly to understand psychological issues and provide solutions. Skills & Specialties: User Experience Strategy & Solutions, Usability & Accessibility Analysis, IA Design, People management, Visualization, Communication design (web, print, multimedia), Skill & Process Training, Lectures (Art history, Color psychology, Design process), Painting (Oil, Acrylic, Watercolor, Charcoal), Sculpture, Mural, Illustration. In addition to his day job Swaroop is an recognized Painter & Sculptor. He has 12 solo and more than 40 group exhibitions to his credit across major cities of India and abroad. He is a hobby Photographer, Actor & Script writer.
Ami Patel
Ami Patel was born in Mumbai (India) where she spent her entire childhood and lives currently. She earned her Bachelors & Masters in Fine Art from Sir J J School of Arts. She has quite a few awards to her credit namely the Maharashtra State Art Award, a Government of India scholarship for 2 years, the Bombay Art Society Merit Certificate, the Art Society of India Award, the Raza merit scholarship etc. Ami has various solo shows to her credit. She has also participated at group shows in the Jehangir Art Gallery (Mumbai), Leela Kempinski (Mumbai), Art Today (Delhi)1995, Artists Centre (Mumbai), Y.B. Chavan (Mumbai), Lalit Kala Akademy (Delhi), The National Gallery of Modern Art (Mumbai), the "Colours" Group Show(Mumbai), a Group show in Dubai 2008, Group shows at Museum Art Gallery (Mumbai) 2008, 2009 and 2010, Group show at Prince of Wales Museum(Mumbai), participation in Concern India show (Mumbai) and a Group show at Hirji Jehangir gallery (Mumbai) 2008 and Group show at Mauritius in 2010. She experimented with entirely different mediums ranging from glass and ceramics to metal and wood, later preferring the combination of unique metals sheets clad onto custom textured wood. She uses a combination of various metal sheets - copper, brass and aluminum - that are painstakingly clad to reveal each wood chip in metallic yellow, orange and silver. The outcome was the solo exhibition "Transcending Journey" in March 2009 at the Jehangir Art Gallery and a solo exhibition "Stasis" in December 2009 at the Mantra Art Gallery (Ahmedabad). In 2010.
Dimple Shah
Dimple Shah is a multidisciplinary artist from Bangalore, studied in MS University, Baroda, currently practicing in Bangalore. Her art practice has developed in Painting, Printmaking, Installation and Performance Art. In her pursuit to blend these mediums into an interdisciplinary language, she has worked in various residencies like Space Studio, Baroda, Glasgow Print Studio UK, Printmakers Studio Mumbai & Baroda and Karnataka Lalit Kala Academy. She has been honored with prestigious National & International Awards among them India Foundation for the Arts grant for project 560, 2014 , Afiriperforma International Residency, Lagos ,Nigeria 2013 through Prince Claus Fund, First Gold Prix in 7th Engraving Biennale, Versailles 2009, National Award, LKA, Government of India 2008, most prestigious Commonwealth Arts & Crafts Award, UK 2005, Arunawaz Award 2004, Junior Fellowship, HRD, Govt.2001/2. She also had solo shows in Glasgow Print studio, Uk. , Sumukha Art Gallery and Kalakriti Art Gallery ,Hyderabad and have participated in several show to name few Dada Fest International Festival, Liverpool and Massachusetts USA. Dimple has widely performed in renowned International performance Festivals in the Zurich, Paris Munich Gothenburg, Lagos Srilanka and Bangladesh as well as in different cities like, Delhi, Kolkata, Jaipur, Kochi, Hyderabad Baroda Ahmedabad and Mumbai. Currently she is focusing on Live Performance Art along with community based performances projects.
Brij Bhasin
Brij Bhasin is an Ex IPS officer turned internationally known Handicrafts and Textile expert with more than four decades experience in the field. After working in Police for 7 years he was appointed to Gujarat Handicrafts and Handlooms Corporation (GURJARI) in1974. Under his charge Gurjari became the finest Handicraft Corporation in the country and he was selected to head the Central Cottage Industries Corporation at Delhi by Govt of India In 1984 Bhasin was appointed as Handicrafts Advisor To India Trade Mission In Brussels to promote the trade of Handicrafts to EEC countries and in86 he was given the charge of Textiles as well After Four years in Brussels He was posted to Hamburg in Germany to take over the Europian Operations Of Handicrafts and Handloom Export Corporation which included Country's largest Carpet warehouse at Hamburg Sona shop at Paris and Garment unit at Neuss. He has served HHEC as its chairman and Managing Director and was also appointed chairman Of Central Cottage Industries Corporation. During his long career he has held very prestigious positions in Craft, Art and Handicraft industry. In 2002 He resigned from Govt service to form a craft NGO Vrindavan to work with the artisans directly and promote their work. He resigned from Vrindavan after 6 years and formed another NGO called Barsana.
Gori Yusuf Husen
Yusuf Husen Gori was born in Upleta (Gujarat) in 1963. A self-taught, self-disciplined and self-dependent practitioner of traditional art and is one of the very few Indian artists who work on documents and traditional Islamic art. Ever since he got associated with the traditional sacred Islamic art, he was favoured with unlimited grace by the Almighty. All his artworks are focused on traditional works of 300 to 800 years old made in old style with materials such as paper, leather and clothes used in that period. He tries to revive the dying tradition through his art which is at the verge of extinction. Mr. Gori also worked on miniature and oil painting on canvas and has participated in major world exhibitions held in countries like U.K., Germany, France, South Africa, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Iran and Kuwait.
Dr. Rekha K Rana
Born in 1977, Hazaribag, India. Rekha has done M.F.A. (1999) & Ph.D (2009) from Faculty of Visual Arts, Benaras Hindu University, India. She has done ten solo shows in Jehagir gallery, Museum gallery, Nehru Centre art gallery, & Bajaj Gallery in Mumbai, Hotel Taj Ganges in Varanasi, Lalit Kala Akademi in Delhi. Participated in more than forty group shows in India, Mauritius, Germeny & Dubai. She works on the life of people who lives in naxal affected areas in India. Her popular series of paintings are 'Dumbs & Drums,' 'Drums & Guns', 'Broken wings & Brazen Valley'. She has been awarded many fellowships by Govt. of India i.e. Junior Fellowship, twice nominated for Indo-Chinese fellowship (2004 & 2005) & Commonwealth scholarship in U.K.(2004), National scholarship by CCRT, National LKA Research Felloship, U.P.- LKA Scholarship, University Gold Medal (2007) & Merit scholarship by B.H.U,University Research Fellowship by B.H.U. Along with Paintings her more than twenty articles on art criticism have been published in reputed journals. Rekha lives and works in Mumbai.