Artist Statement: The focus of my work to date is the point where classic Indian imagery intersects with a minimalist aesthetic. Constantly, I am collecting and archiving intellectual mental images of the past and now, from landscapes, miniature portraiture, folk traditions and classic Indian cinema, etc. I use these vestiges from my culturally-rich past as a platform for evoking a contemporary dialogue that reinterprets and reinvents Indian creative heritage. The techniques I apply are traditional, a mixture of hand made stencils, silk-screen, wood, collage, painting, drawing, etc. Depending on the nature of the series, I also use photography, which is chemically reworked by hand in order to add another visual dimension to my artworks. Each artwork is transformed by altering the original context to completely reinterpret and reconstruct a minimalist narrative. At the heart of my artistic research has been a blend of India’s cultural past with its present. I think of my art as alternating notions of time and space by pairing archaic refinement with modern austerity.

Artist’s Biography: Pratima Naithani, born June 18th, 1979 in Washington, D.C., came into this world an heir to three distinct and rich cultures. Her mother being from El Salvador and her father from India, Pratima grew up in the suburban town of Princeton, New Jersey. Sitting astride these three cultures, she is an El Salvadorian, Indian, and American artist. As a child, she became more and more familiar with her Indian heritage. Her mother’s country, El Salvador, was at war for most of her young life, preventing prolonged visits and causing her to develop a deeper relationship with her Indian roots. Many of her works draw upon her summers in India and the inspiration Indian music, film, and history encourage. Pratima consistently makes evident her reverence for her heritage.

As a child, Pratima Naithani suffered from an eye condition that went undiagnosed until she was thirteen. Before it was corrected, she expressed herself through the medium she could most easily perceive: music. A passion for the piano led her to play by ear without learning how to read music. Her skills developed rapidly and she quickly became a classical and jazz pianist. Though Pratima Naithani continued her interest in music, she discovered art by happenstance at school. Her innate abilities and apparent talent eventually led her to the School of Visual Arts in New York City, where graduated in 2003.

Upon graduation, Pratima Naithani’s artwork was immediately selected for the Visionaire 41/World Issue in 2003, alongside Karl Lagerfeld, Baz Luhrmann, and others. The Dance Festival of India 2008 commissioned Ms. Naithani to create mixed media artworks on paper blending India’s cultural past with it’s present. All are transformations using traditional techniques to alter the original context. Some of Ms. Naithani’s group shows include Engendered held at Lincoln Center, Erasing Borders 2008 presented by Indo-American Arts Council, the exhibition Fatal Love held at the Queens Museum, presented by the Asia Society in 2005. Ms. Naithani spent much of her time in Mumbai preparing for her first solo exhibition which traveled to two influential art galleries specializing in Indian art: the Visual Arts Gallery in New Delhi and the Jehangir Art Gallery in Mumbai, as well as to a solo exhibition of her work at the Miami Art Basel in December 2006, hosted by Rolls Royce. Other distinctions include her artwork’s selection for benefit auctions and multiple group exhibits.

Pratima travels extensively, splitting the majority of her time between New York and India, but also taking every opportunity to absorb the cultures of many other destinations. This unmoored artist is an expert at pop culture trivia and a persistent contributor to charitable organizations.

Education: Bachelor of Fine Arts, School Of Visual Arts, New York City 2003

Solo Artwork Exhibitions: September 2008 – New York Academy of Art, New York City December 2006 – Miami Art Basel 2006, Rolls Royce Presents April 2006 – Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai March 2006 – Visual Arts Gallery, New Delhi

Selected Group Artwork Exhibitions: April 2008 – Engendered, Frederick P. Rose Hall Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York City March – October 2008 – Erasing Borders 2008: Passport to Contemporary Indian Art of the Diaspora, New York April 2005 – V O R 2005, Chicago February 2005 – Fatal Love presented by Asia Society, Queens Museum of Art, New York, NYÂ January 2005 – Spice Auction, New York, NY, November 2004 – Yearning For Yours, Visual Arts Gallery, New York, NY, September 2004 – Erasing Borders – Passport to Contemporary Indian Art of the Diaspora, New York, NY May 2003 – The Mentor Show, Visual Arts Gallery, New York, NY

Commissioned Artworks/Exhibition: September 2007- September 2008, Dance Festival of India 2008, New York, NY

Selected Bibliography of Reviews and References: November 2008 – Elle Magazine, The New Guard by Matthieu Foss, October 2008 – The Statesman, Against All Odds by Mathures Paul, July 2008 – New York Times, A Collection Born of Cultural Dislocation by Benjamin Genocchio, April 2007 – Indian Express US Edition, Blend of Tinsel Glitter and Miniature Art by Juhi Jhunjhunwala, April 2006 – India Today Magazine, Photo Frame by Aditi Pai April 2006 – Elle, Reel to Reel April 2006 – DNA Sunday Times, She Adds Timeless Aura to Celluloid Moments by Shivangi Ambani April 2006 – The Hindustan Times, Reverse Logic by Gitanjali Dang April 2006 – Bombay Times, Times of India, Images from the Past March 2006 – Mumbai Mirror, Retake of Vintage Cinema by Georgina Maddox, March 2006 – The Financial Express, Photography as High Art by Suman Tarafdar, March 2006 – Indian Express, Brush with the Lens by Namita Kohli, March 2005 – New York Times, Taking a Magical Flight Through Modern India by Holland Cotter, March 2005 – Wall Street Journal, South Asia as Ethnic Background, Artistic Foreground by Amy Finnerty, March 2005 – ArtNews, Edge of Desire by Barbara Pollack September 2003 – Visionaire 41/World Issue