Featured Artist Rajul Shah

Enjoy the fascinating portfolio of painter Rajul Shah, who bases her work on ancient teachings and Eastern tradition. See more by visiting her website.

 

 

Using meditative layers of texture and color, my art is a fusion of philosophy behind the Japanese Art of Kintsugi and the spiritual teachings of the chakras. Using the aura of each chakra, I paint abstract expressions of color. In Japan, the art of kintsugi is used to mend broken pottery with gold splicing and tree sap to evolve the object into a piece of art to be treasured.

 

 

There are 7 Chakras (energy centers) in the human body. Each one commands a different aspect of the human psyche. The free flow of energy through these chakras is essential for physical, mental and spiritual well-being.

 

 

I work across a variety of materials and often use my hands to lay down the first few layers of texture, representing the “grittiness” of life. Being an intuitive painter, each layer tells me what the subsequent layer should be until I find the work to represent the evolution of healing. Kintsugi lines are drawn in metal leaf/paint to denote resilience.

 

 

Born 1968 in Mumbai, I am currently based in Singapore and the United States. In my younger years creativity was developed through music (violin and piano) and as a vocalist being part of an award-winning group of vocal jazz artists. Photography was also a hobby as I captured the world around me in my travels.

 

 

Opting for a more “practical” journey, undergraduate and graduate degrees in business brought me to spend 20 years in healthcare marketing. I enjoyed that work, which contributed to health and well-being, overall.

 

 

Upon moving to Japan in 2012, I took the opportunity to pursue my passion. My art evolved across several outlets, including photography, Japanese brush painting, drawing and oil/acrylic painting through studies at the Temple University Tyler School of Art in Tokyo and mentorships. In the end, I fell in love with painting.

 

 

I find the act of painting soothing as I have navigated through depression and anxiety for many years. Between my own health and learnings accumulated during my career in healthcare, “healing” has always been an aspirational pursuit.

 

 

My work has been exhibited in venues such as the 82nd Annual Shinseisaku Exhibition at the National Art Center in Tokyo. It has appeared in the 49th Annual Genyouten Exhibition at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the 32nd Annual National Japanese Exhibition of Nature at the Ueno No Mori Art Museum.

 

 

My art has also been part of international showcases like the 29th Annual International Society of Experimental Artists in Canada, and the XIII Florence Biennale, 2019 HartExpo in Barcelona and the Tokyo International Art Fair. I will be participating in the Pre-Expo Kyoto and Superfine Art Fair in New York in 2025.  I am represented by Vedica Art Studio and Gallery, Mumbai.

 

 

My hope is viewers will find their story in my art and be inspired to meditate and introspect for resilience and renewal. “What needs repair does not need to define us. We can heal, regenerate, and evolve into improved versions of ourselves, with renewed strength and purpose.”

 

Rajul Shah invites you to follow on Instagram.

 

 

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