Artist Statement

I am thrilled to show my fine art prints from the series “Under My Skin” at the Manhattan Graphic Center Gallery exhibition from July 12 to August 6, 2022. This body of work explores the themes of identity, heritage, transmission, and perception through a visual expression of multicultural aesthetics inspired by nature. The prints are created from dried roses, oriental plane, and gingko tree leaves etched on copper and zinc plates. They are handprinted on thin Japanese papers of various thicknesses. The transparency obtained by layering the prints translates the idea of transmission while the organic and degradable material transferred onto the metal plates and paper evokes survival and durability. I like the contrast of the hardness of the plates and acid bites with the delicacy and fragility of each petal’s vein and leaf. The etchings are often printed on gilded paper, and enhanced with golden gansai tambi paint, pencil, and pen lines at the crossroad of tradition and modernity. Many collages in this series are inspired by biomorphic oriental compositions seeking to express a contemporary interpretation of multicultural and intertemporal aesthetics. These prints were made over the last 3 years using a variety of printmaking techniques such as soft ground, sugar lift, dry point, gilding, and collage that I was fortunate to perfect alongside wonderful artists and teachers at MGC: Vijay Kumar, Nandini Bagla Chirimar, Rie Hasegawa, Bill Gauthier, to only name a few.