Statement
I am interested in mapping connections between the human condition and the environment we inhabit. Using the body and abstracted organic forms as metaphor for land/earth/people, my work investigates themes in personal history, gender constructs, social order and colonization. I draw from a broad range of influences including history, myth, the natural world, antiquarian illustration, religious iconography and mystical philosophies. My practice is currently focused on drawing, photo and installation based art.
Biography
Samanta Batra Mehta was born in New Delhi, India in 1975 and lives in New York, USA. Her work has been exhibited at various international venues including at the Queens Museum, the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, AIR Gallery and Guild Art in New York, the Hunterdon Museum and the Visual Arts Center in New Jersey, Gallery BMB and Bodhi Art Gallery in Bombay and at the Salon Du Dessin Contemporain 2010 in Paris with Galerie LMD where she was invited to make a 24 foot long site-specific mural. Most recently her work has been included at Art Stage, Singapore and at the India Art Summit in January 2011. Upcoming exhibitions include a group show of the Indian diaspora opening at the Queens Museum in New York from March-August 2011, and at a solo show with Shrine Empire Gallery in New Delhi slated for December 2011. Samanta has degrees in Economics and Information Systems from St Xavier’s College, Bombay and the London School of Economics, London. She has attended various art-making classes and workshops including the year-long Aesthetics of Indian Visual Art at the Bombay University and Summer School in Drawing and Painting at the Central St. Martins, London. She has also been trained in traditional Byzantine icon-making at the Prosopon School of Iconology, New York. Previously, Samanta has worked in Banking, Venture Capital and International Shipping.
I am interested in mapping connections between the human condition and the environment we inhabit. Using the body and abstracted organic forms as metaphor for land/earth/people, my work investigates themes in personal history, gender constructs, social order and colonization. I draw from a broad range of influences including history, myth, the natural world, antiquarian illustration, religious iconography and mystical philosophies. My practice is currently focused on drawing, photo and installation based art.
Biography
Samanta Batra Mehta was born in New Delhi, India in 1975 and lives in New York, USA. Her work has been exhibited at various international venues including at the Queens Museum, the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, AIR Gallery and Guild Art in New York, the Hunterdon Museum and the Visual Arts Center in New Jersey, Gallery BMB and Bodhi Art Gallery in Bombay and at the Salon Du Dessin Contemporain 2010 in Paris with Galerie LMD where she was invited to make a 24 foot long site-specific mural. Most recently her work has been included at Art Stage, Singapore and at the India Art Summit in January 2011. Upcoming exhibitions include a group show of the Indian diaspora opening at the Queens Museum in New York from March-August 2011, and at a solo show with Shrine Empire Gallery in New Delhi slated for December 2011. Samanta has degrees in Economics and Information Systems from St Xavier’s College, Bombay and the London School of Economics, London. She has attended various art-making classes and workshops including the year-long Aesthetics of Indian Visual Art at the Bombay University and Summer School in Drawing and Painting at the Central St. Martins, London. She has also been trained in traditional Byzantine icon-making at the Prosopon School of Iconology, New York. Previously, Samanta has worked in Banking, Venture Capital and International Shipping.
