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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, graduating 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. Most recently Naithani created Dances of India Series, mixed media artworks on paper, blending India's cultural past with its 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 continues to travel to investigate her heritage, to study cultures, to collect materials for her projects, and particularly works in the spirit of preserving traditions as well as interpreting them in a contemporary context for broader audiences.