My work focuses on the psychological and emotional aspects of an urban woman’s life in a world teeming with discord, inequalities, gender disparities, violence and environmental catastrophes. Often utilizing a subtle, dark and wry humour to address these troubling issues, I also reflect on the hope, empathy and courage that exist in our minds, creating works that are visually and psychologically layered.
My work is based on my drawings, and my sketch books are like a daily journal – a chronicle of my thoughts, observations, emotions and experiences. In my work I create a world where thoughts are as visible as “reality”, where human forms morph to match their mental state, and comic book-inspired empty thought and speech bubbles convey ineffable emotions. The protagonists in my work populate a world where past memories, the present, and imagined futures can all coexist.
However when the works are viewed, I hope that the myriad detailing lures viewers to reflect on their own experiences and sentiments, making the specifics of the stories and the meaning of each image unimportant and allowing for the contemplation of our shared human existence.
about dhruvi acharya
Dhruvi Acharya received her Master of Fine Arts Degree from the Hoffberger School of Painting, Maryland Institute, College of Art, Baltimore, USA in 1998, and completed her Post Baccalaureate in 1996 from the same college. Acharya began exhibiting her works professionally in 1998 in the USA where she spent 10 years.
Acharya has held solo exhibitions with Chemould Prescott Road in Mumbai, Nature Morte in New Delhi, Gomez Gallery in Baltimore and Kravets/Wehby in New York. Her selected participations include shows at the San Jose Museum of Art, Griffith University in Brisbane, BosePacia Modern in New York, National Gallery of Modern Art in Mumbai and Queens Museum of Art in New York.
Acharya has been the recipient of the FICCI Young Woman Achievers award in 2013, and was featured on the cover of India Today in 2005. The artist lives and works in Mumbai.
2014 Drawing 2014: 7 Decades of Indian Drawing, curated by Prayag Shukla, Annapurna Garimella & Sindhura DM, Gallery Espace New Delhi
2014 Infinite, Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai
2013 Mythopoetic: Women artists from Australia & India, curated by Marnie Dean, Griffith University, Brisbane *
2013 Card-o-logy, curated by Jasmine Shah Varma, Samsara Art Gallery, Mumbai
2013 Re-picturing the Feminine, New & Hybrid Realities in the Art World, curated by Marnie Dean, Gallery OED, Kochi
2011 Fragile, 1×1 & Paradox Gallery, Singapore
2011 Roots in the Air, Branches Below: Modern & Contemporary Art from India, San Jose Museum of Art, California
2011 Of Humour, Wit and Satire, Gallery Threshold, New Delhi *
2011 Fabular Bodies: New Narratives in the Art of the Miniature, curated by Gayatri Sinha, Chatrapati Shivaji Museum, Mumbai
2010 Bring me a Lion: An Exhibition of Contemporary Indian Art, curated by Dana Turkovic & Jeffrey Hughes, Cecile R. Hunt Gallery, Webster University, St. Louis *
2009 Edible Woman, Kravets/Wehby Gallery, New York
2009 Chrysalid, Amelia Johnson Contemporary, Hong Kong
2009 Ethics of Encounter II, curated by Brian Curtin, Gallery Soulflower, Bangkok *
2009 ‘Lo Real Maravilloso: Marvelous Reality, curated by Sunil Mehra, Gallery Espace, New Delhi *
2009 The Miniature Format Show, Sans Tache Art Gallery, Mumbai *
2009 Vicissitudes of the Constructed Image, Tangerine Art Space, Bangalore
2009 Intimate Lives, curated by Anupa Mehta, The Loft & Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai *
2009 Pixel Power, curated by Georgina Maddox, The Loft, Mumbai
2009 Summer Show, Kravets/Wehby, New York
2009 1×1 India on Canvas, The Loft, Mumbai
2009 Picture Postcard Project, Hacienda Art Gallery, Mumbai
2008 Shifting Terrains/Altered Realities, The Shrine Gallery & Gallery Empire, The Arts House, Singapore *
2007 India Art Now: Between Continuity & Transformation, curated by Daniela Palazzoli, Spazio Oberdan, Milan *
2007 Year 2007, Bucheon Contemporary, London
2005 Fatal Love: South Asian American Art Now, curated by Jaishri Abichandani & Prerana Reddy, Queens Museum of Art, New York *
2005 In Short, curated by Jasmine Shah Varma, Hacienda Art Gallery, Mumbai *
2004 Ideas & Images VI – Art in Mumbai, National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai
2002 Words and Images, National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai *
2002 Selections from New American Paintings, OSP Gallery, Boston *
2001 Shaken and Stirred, BosePacia Modern, New York
2001 Alienation, York Quay Center, Harbourfront, Toronto *
2001 Excerpts from My Diary Pages, curated by Sasha Altaf, Fine Art Company, Mumbai *
2001 Art Frenzy, 12th Street Studios, Long island, New York
2000 Art of Modern India, BosePacia Modern Gallery, New York
2000 Small Works, 80 Washington Square East Galleries, New York
2000 Nayika, Tao Art Gallery, curated by Anupa Mehta, Mumbai *
2000 Diasporadics 2000, Riverside Church Theater, New York
2000 Print Exhibition, Manhattan Graphics Center, New York
1998 13 Artists, 2 Galleries, juried by Nancy Miller Batty, Halcyon Gallery & Studio 302, Baltimore
1998 Artscape Annual, juried by Garry Sangster & Olga Viso, Maryland Art Place, Baltimore
1998 The Divine Comedy: Images of Heaven, Hell and Limbo, Cade Center, Arnold
1997 Artscape Annual, juried by Thelma Golden, Meyerhoff Gallery, Baltimore
1997 Selections from the Graduate Studios, curated by Eugenie Tsai, Meyerhoff Gallery, Baltimore
* (exhibition catalog)
Talks/Presentations/Videos
2020 Presentation of Work, Kanoria Art Center, Ahmedabad, India
2020 Coronavirus ARTpocalypse: The Art World Responds, Part 5, YouTube series
2020 Dhruvi Acharya, A Chronicler in Paint, MASH India podcast
2020 Virtual Studio Visit, Advanced Painting Class, Union College, New York, USA
2017 Post-Boom: Artists and Their Practices, Asia Society India Center
2016 Projects/Process: #01, The G5A Foundation for Contemporary Culture, Mumbai
2016 V-IDEO ideas worth sharing, Mohile Parikh Center for the Visual Arts
2016 Visiting Artist, Space 118, Mumbai
2009 Painting Workshop, Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, Mumbai
2005 Presentation of Work, Mohile Parikh Center for the Visual Arts, National Centre for the Performing Arts, Mumbai
Honors & Awards
2014 FICCI YFLO Achiever’s Award, India
2006 Aditya Vikram Birla Kala Kiran Puraskar Award, India
2006 Nominated for The Joan Mitchell Foundation Award, USA
2005 Included among Leaders of their Generation, India Today (cover), January
1996 International Students Scholarship, Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore
1992, 91, 89 Student of the Year Awards, Sophia Polytechnic, Mumbai
1992 Gold Medal for the Best Annual Exhibition, Sophia Polytechnic, Mumbai
