Astral Bodies and Dancing Trees: Chitra Ganesh's drawings and murals reimagine femininity, sexuality and power, Open Magazine, Feb 2023
Orchid Meditations marks the second solo show for this Brooklyn-based artist, after a gap of ten years. During this time, she has participated in large-scale events in India and around the world, including the India Art Fair and the Kochi Biennale. This exhibition collates her diverse practice by showcasing an animated film, drawings, paintings, murals and collages made using mixed media.
The orchid has inspired both the title of the show and its titular painting, where a tree-headed figure reposes in a meditative state within a protective bubble amidst lush, forested surroundings. The scene could as easily be one of hope as of despair. This duality of interpretation characterises much of Ganesh's oeuvre, which is largely inspired by imagery associated with art history, mythology, comics and other mediums of pop culture. "For this show, I took inspiration from the Barahmasa paintings, both for their syncretic style as well as the change of seasons they depict, which are often associated with loss or expectation. But I was also thinking about the fact that we barely have seasons like we once did, due to climate change. The hope and expectation for a better future are also grounded in this idea;• adds the artist.