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New in the City

New in the City, Oil on Canvas, 16" x 24"

Rajesh Naidu is an artist and educator born in India.

 

His formative works were inspired by Bikash Bhattacharjee , Pablo Picasso, Alice Neel, Lucian Freud, and Edward Hopper, bearing paintings of people and places done exclusively from life. While some of his paintings represented people in their unguarded moment, in their private spaces, others explored the idea of spaces, man-made structures and their juxtaposition with the environment, often evoking isolation and self-reflection. Subsequently, the lockdown induced by the global pandemic resulted in a series of small paintings focussing on mundane, everyday objects that one finds in their immediate surroundings.

 

Most recently, he is exploring traditional representational painting in the contemporary setting, and finding its niche in current India while embracing its ethos and unravelling its multicultural aspects. His work is largely derived from his experiences and observation of people, places, and sometimes commonplace objects, not necessarily following a quintessential theme. He continues to make art as a form of inquiry that is directed inward as much it is outward, making a humble effort to find an answer to the age-old question — what is art?

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As a Visiting Assistant Professor of Art at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (Indiana, USA), Rajesh Naidu conducted Painting, Art History, and Art Appreciation courses. He was also the Artist-in-Residence at the Institute. He received a Master of Fine Arts in Studio Arts/Painting from Indiana State University, during which he was an Instructor for Beginning and Intermediate Level Drawing courses, and held a Graduate Assistantship scholarship. He began his academic career with a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Civil Engineering from the Savitribai Phule Pune University, following which he worked in the construction industry for some time.

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Currently, he is a faculty at Ahmedabad University, where he teaches courses in drawing, painting, and the history of the visual arts.

Curriculum Vitae

JURIED EXHIBITIONS / SHOWS​

  • In-Between, March 2024, Urmila Art Gallery, Kanoria Centre for Arts, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

  • View/Mirror, October 2023, Turman Gallery, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana, USA

  • Reflection (Solo Show), February 2020, Gaslight Art Colony, Marshall, Illinois, USA

  • Artists Café Salon Exhibition, December 2019, Education Center (Swope Art Museum), Terre Haute, Indiana, USA

  • Get Out! Paint Out! Plein Air Event/Exhibition, September 2019, McKendree University Gallery of Art, Lebanon, Illinois, USA

  • Rose-Hulman Fall Art Exhibit, August 2019, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, Indiana, USA

  • 75th Annual Wabash Valley Exhibition, September 2019, Swope Art Museum, Terre Haute, Indiana, USA

  • Nude, December 2018, Swope Art Museum, Terre Haute, Indiana, USA

  • MFA Graduate Show, November 2018, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana, USA

  • 74th Annual Wabash Valley Exhibition, September 2018, Swope Art Museum, Terre Haute, Indiana, USA

  • The Road Show 2018, August 2018, Arts Illiana Gallery, Terre Haute, Indiana, USA

  • Student Juried Show 2018, February 2018, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana, USA

  • Small Art 2017, November 2017, Arts Illiana Gallery, Terre Haute, Indiana, USA

  • 73rd Annual Wabash Valley Exhibition, September 2017, Swope Art Museum, Terre Haute, Indiana, USA

  • Self Portrait: The Original Selfie, May 2017, Arts Illiana Gallery, Terre Haute, Indiana, USA

  • Student Juried Show 2017, February 2017, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana, USA

  • Student Juried Show 2016, March 2016, Indiana State University, Terre Haute, Indiana, USA

  • Art Beat, June 2014, Trois, Pune, India


AWARDS / GRANTS / SCHOLARSHIPS

  • People’s Choice Award, October 2019, Get Out! Paint Out!, McKendree University Gallery of Art

  • 3rd Prize, October 2019, Get Out! Paint Out!, McKendree University Gallery of Art

  • Eileen Prose Award of Recognition, September 2018, 74th Annual Wabash Valley Exhibition, Swope Art Museum

  • Joan and David Zaun Award of Recognition, September 2017, 73rd Annual Wabash Valley Exhibition, Swope Art Museum

  • Elmer J. Porter Scholarship, Spring 2017, Indiana State University

  • Provost’s Merit Award, February 2017, Student Juried Show 2017, Indiana State University


COLLECTIONS

  • Swope Art Museum, Terre Haute, Indiana, USA

  • Eugene V. Debs Museum, Terre Haute, Indiana, USA

  • Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, Indiana, USA


PUBLICATIONS / MEDIA / PUBLIC TALK

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