Manisha Parekh
New York Pages 1 2017 Watercolor, Ink on paper 12 × 10 in
Having well known painters Manu and Madhavi Parekh for parents, Manisha Parekh grew up surrounded by paints and brushes. She formalized her artistic upbringing with her studies in painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts at M.S. University in Baroda, and at the Royal College of Art, London on an INLAKS scholarship. Today, Parekh has several of her own exhibitions under her belt, whether of her minimal, skillfully executed works in ink and gouache, her intricate layered pieces on board, or her more ambitious works in the area of conceptual, site-specific installations.
The essence of Parekh`s works, whether limited to, or extending beyond the canvas or board, has always been the fluid rhythmic structure she creates though her use of harmonious forms. The main thrust of Parekh’s style has always been that of clear, scientific structure. She has always shown a marked preference for form and texture, which has allowed her to concentrate on these elements over colour and tone. Exploring the densities, opacity and transparency of inks and papers, she is fascinated by the life they take on when in contact with various surfaces, seeming as if to almost animate it.
Using minimal color, she uses harmonious forms that are linked and unfold a larger vision. Sometimes an oval and a line meet and become something new. She has a continuing fascination with vessels, and breathes life into inanimate objects, which themselves take on connotations of the human body. Her earlier rugged brushwork has gradually evolved into loose strokes, and the handling of figures in her work in now done "to relax muscular as well as pictorial tension," as she says.
Parekh has exhibited extensively in India, Germany and the United Kingdom. She has also completed a stint as a teacher teaching at the M. S. University in Baroda. Some of Parekh’s solo exhibitions include ‘Wonder Woods’ at Bodhi Art, New York, in 2008; ‘Shadow Gardens’ at Berkeley Square Gallery and Saffronart, London, in 2006; ‘Memory Membrane’ at Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai, in 2006; Nature Morte, New Delhi, in 2004, 2002, 2000 and 1999; Gallery Foundation for Indian Artists, Amsterdam, in 1999; Pundole Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 1996; Goethe-Institute, Bonn, in 1995; and IFA Gallery, Bonn, in 1995. Her work has been included in exhibits such as the Havana Biennale of 2001 and the Istanbul Biennale of 1999, and she has taken part in several residencies including the Erasmus exchange in Berlin and the Heinrich- Boll fellowship in Bonn. The artist lives and works in New Delhi. courtesy of artsy.net, saffronart.com