Artist Chitra Ramanathan"s Contribution to the Arts

- INDIANAPOLIS, IN, February 06, 2007 - Born and raised in India, the artist Chitra Ramanathan began drawing and painting from the age of four, and received prizes from art competitions throughout her childhood, notably those hosted by corporations based in India such as Hindustan Lever, Philips and the Birla Academy of Arts, Kolkatta.

An Indianapolis based professional artist-painter and educator, Chitra Ramanathan teaches all-level courses and workshops in mixed media and acrylic painting. Independent of her part-time teaching commitments at the Indianapolis Art Center, she also receives invitations as visiting Artist/Lecturer to institutions within the U.S and abroad such as the Post-graduate Royal Academy of Arts, London, England where she spoke about her career in October 2005.

A recent installation of Ramanathan"s five large paintings were on display at the Chase Towers on North Pennsylvania Street, Indianapolis for the duration July 2006-February 2007, for which the artist was selected by the Arts Council of Indianapolis. "Picture Windows: Urban Interpretations" was developed by Public Art Indianapolis, a program managed by the Arts Council of Indianapolis and funded by the Cultural Development Commission of Indianapolis. Project description: Chitra Ramanathan"s "Exaltation", 2006", Mixed media paintings on canvas.

Ramanathan is known for her body of large, mural-like mixed media acrylic textural paintings on canvas, linen and Plexiglas that portray the theme of happiness as a universal human goal. In 2004, the MGM Mirage commissioned this artist to create two large paintings based on her 1999 and 2000 originals displayed on myriad websites. The two commissioned paintings, each measuring four feet by six feet in dimension are permanently displayed inside the Conservatory Garden of their Hotel Bellagio, Las Vegas, since October 2004.

Chitra Ramanathan is a current member and of the Indianapolis Museum of Art and a volunteer at the of the IMA"s Lilly House & Oldfield Gardens. In 2004, she was commissioned to create ten custom post-card sized paintings to the Indianapolis Museum of Art"s project titled "Gallery of the Machine. She continues to donate her works to charities such creating a "en plein air" painting for the "Naturally Inspired Paint Out in the White River Gardens, Indianapolis donated for the silent auction to benefit the Indianapolis Zoo and White River Gardens on August 20, 2006. (NATURALLY INSPIRED Art Exhibition at the White River Gardens runs September 1-November 19, 2006). In November 2006, a donation of her painting created in her signature style of abstract painting, was made in response to the Madame C.J. Walker Theatre"s Silent Auction. During the development of ARTSPARK at the Indianapolis Art Center in 2005, she assisted in the construction of Patrick Dougherty"s outdoor sculpture "Still Life with Sticks" which featured on Wish TV, Indianapolis.

In July 2006, the Indianapolis Monthly Home magazine was able to meet the artist for an interview at her studio through the Arts Council of Indianapolis, with a feature story published on her accomplishments in art from early childhood in the magazine"s summer 2006 issue.

Ramanathan earned a Bachelors degree in Fine Arts from the University of Madras, India. After moving to the United States, she received a second Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting with Honors in 1993, and a Masters in Business Administration in 1997 with concentrations in Art Museum Administration and Human Resources from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois.

While a student of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Ramanathan twice received the Liquitex Binney and Smith"s Product Grant Award for "outstanding achievement in the painting discipline" for 1994 and 1995. In 1996, the then-dean of the College of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign acquired two of her large paintings for permanent display in the main conference Room.

Artist Chitra Ramanathan has been a member of the College Art Association, New York, since 1997 and served in the Services to Artists from 2003-2006. Currently she has been selected to serve in the Committee on Cultural Diversity Practices from February 2007 to February 2010. Committee members are appointed by the CAA President in consultation with the Vice President for Committees and serve for fixed terms of three years.

Even while a student at the University of Illinois for her Bachelors degree, Chitra Ramanathan was invited to exhibit her paintings in different art galleries on Broadway, SoHo, New York after a solo exhibition of her paintings premiered at the ARC Gallery/Education Foundation in Chicago, Illinois in 1994. Her exhibitions at the Montserrat Gallery, SoHo New York (1995, 1997, and 1998) and Agora Gallery SoHo, New York (1995) attracted appreciative reviews. Since then, her works have been acquired by corporate and public enterprises as well as individual collectors around the United States and in Europe.

To borrow from a recent interview with the artist, "Chitra"s paintings exemplify her love of nature as well as the subjectivity of each individual"s unique pursuit of happiness. Her painting procedure often entails making mental notes of a scene in nature, including the lighting, colors, and textures. She then uses these impressions in her studio to replicate the subject matter in an abstracted form, using rich physical textures, intense colors, and varied media".

Recent commissions include MGM Mirage, Las Vegas, Indianapolis Museum of Art"s "Gallery of the Machine", and Florida International University, Miami, Florida, to name a few. The artist"s forthcoming painting exhibits to include UNICEF-Sothebys of London"s collaboration flagship project art exhibition to be held at Amsterdam in April 2007, Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, London June to August 2007, and the Florence Biennale, December 1-9, 2007. In November 2006, the artist has been chosen for inclusion in the Marquis" 2008 Edition of Who"s Who in America.

Websites featuring Chitra Ramanathan"s paintings:

www.saatchigallery.com, Artist Search: Chitra Ramanathan
www.galleries-online.co.uk/Keyowrd: Chitra Ramanathan
www.yessy.com/Keyword: Chitra Ramanathan
www.avisen-avk.com/chitra_ramanathan.htm
www.askart.com/artist/R/chitra_ramanathan.asp?ID=130159
www.indyarts.org/artist_detail.aspx?id=144&;;;ty=alp&lr=r
www.absolutearts.com/ Keyowrd: Chitra Ramanathan
www.indianet.com/ Keyword: Chitra Ramanathan

06.02.2007 - 20:14 Source: 24-7pressrelease.com | Read: 329 X