Nandini Chirimar

My work draws on thoughts and images that populate my mind as I go through my daily life as a mother, daughter, homemaker and artist living in New York. I explore things that become significant in our lives, and how/if they start to define our identity. Autobiographical elements are used to touch upon larger phenomenon including globalization, relationships, memories, grief, death and our current busy lives.

Researching everyday objects for their function in our life, and their social significance, is part of my process. I draw from maps, nature, architectural details, rooms, drawers, household things, clothing, books, patterns, old letters, photographs and miscellaneous personal belongings.

Memories and how they relate to our present is an important theme in my work. Thoughts of people and places, those far away, and those who are no more, surface as I go about my life. The emotions that accompany these thoughts acquire an abstract, sometimes overwhelming life of their own. They become a visual presence in my work through incessant, detailed line and color.

Works on paper, including detailed drawing and printmaking form a large part of my artistic practice. I work extensively on Japanese paper using pen, pencil, watercolor, etching, chine collé, Japanese woodblock printing. The translucencies in this paper allow for experimental printing and layering techniques. Watercolor, gold leaf, sewing and small objects are often used. Sometimes the paper is cut, rolled or stacked to make relief work. Other mediums I work with include thread, handmade paper, digital and object based work.

Nandini Bagla Chirimar grew up in Jaipur, India, and studied at the College of Art, New Delhi, Cornell University (BFA), Maryland Institute College of Art (MFA) and Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. She learned printmaking from Arun Bose and Vijay Kumar, and spent four years in Tokyo studying Japanese woodblock printing with Taika Kinoshita.

Nandini was awarded the Joan Mitchell Painters and Sculptors Grant in 2016 and the Wave Hill Winter Workspace Program in 2019. She has exhibited at many international venues including Twelve Gates Arts, Philadelphia; Queens Museum of Art, New York; Gallery Espace, New Delhi; Ganges Gallery, Kolkata;  Allen Gallery, New York; CWAJ Print Shows, Tokyo and fairs Art Basel OVR, India Art Fair, Delhi Contemporary and Slick Art Fair, Paris. She works extensively with drawing, printmaking and mixed media techniques, and her work is part of many collections including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, US Department of State and RPG Group. Nandini lives in New York City, and teaches at the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop and Manhattan Graphics Center.