THE AMOL VADEHRA ART GRANT 2016-17 | varunika saraf

The Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art (FICA) is delighted to announce that The Amol Vadehra Art Grant 2016-17 will support the work and research of Hyderabad-based artist Varunika Saraf.
 

The three member jury comprising of Anupam Poddar, Mithu Sen and Roshini Vadehra made special note on the depth of Saraf’s practice which initiates a conceptual dialogue with history and cultural memory via her engagement with Indian miniature paintings. Both as an artist and researcher, Saraf has mined these references extracting historical and fictional characters. “These figures are summoned to bear witness. They are elegiac; I use them to interface with another moment in time, a different place and culture,” notes the artist.

The Amol Vadehra Art Grant will support her research and production of a series of works where she will continue her exploration of natural pigments, and fine handmade and rice paper. Over the years Saraf has perfected a technique of pasting layers of thin rice paper together, after her experience of working with the traditional wasli used by miniature painters. The grant will support both the research aspect of her project as well as the material requirements for her paintings. A significant part of the grant will also be used to source relevant books and reading materials needed in the course of the research required for this project.

Varunika Saraf holds an MPhil in Visual Studies from the School of Arts and Aesthetics, JNU and an MFA in Painting from the Sarojini Naidu School of Arts and Communications, University of Hyderabad. Saraf is currently working on her PhD, Souvenirs, Heritage and Fakes: The Making of “Indian Miniatures”. Saraf has participated in various group shows such as Dwelling curated by Ranjit Hoskote (2016), Excavation/Eruption curated by Yashodhara Dalmia (2015), Touched by Bhupen at Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, Mumbai (2013), and Phantoms of Asia at Asian Art Museum, San Fransisco, USA (2012). She has held two solo shows titled The Chair in the Cloud at Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, Mumbai (2010) and Tales of Our Times at Kashi Art Gallery, Kochi (2008). Saraf has been the recipient of the Summer Research Fellowship at Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles; Charles Wallace India Trust Visiting Fellowship, Centre of South Asian Studies, Cambridge, NTICVA Fellowship in the UK, and Visiting Fellowship from the Max-Planck Institute, Florence.