Priya Vadhyar
ARTIST STATEMENT
I love to wander. As a process painter exploring the boundaries of the self through abstraction, I adopt wandering as a painting philosophy to understand the relationship of the I and all that lies outside the I. Using spontaneous action and intuition as a way of coming upon a scene rather than planning a destination, I try to move beyond the definable parts of myself and bring forth the unknown parts of my being. The results are deeply layered paintings that combine architectural forms and line work with drips, washes and fresh brushwork. Structure amid looseness, meandering paths, and dialogues between the planned and unplanned define these paintings. As a wanderer-painter, I look for the unexpected, the monumental, and a recognition that goes beyond the definable.
BIO
Priya Vadhyar (she/her, b. 1980, India) is a visual artist based in Ellicott City, Maryland. In her current work, Priya explores the manifestation of, what Loren Eiseley calls one’s “interior geography,” and the self’s relationship with the sum of things. Her work is an inquiry into the nature of boundaries, and the revelations that lie in juxtapositions. Priya spent most of her formative years in Mumbai. She has a Master’s Degree in Economics from the University of Mumbai. In 2010, Priya moved to Tucson, Arizona. There, she studied advanced abstract painting with artist Josh Goldberg, who later became her mentor. Priya's work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. She is a member of Pell Lucy, an artist collective under the Shim Art Network. Outside of her studio, Priya is a teaching artist. In 2021, she created Studio/ Line of Sight, a platform dedicated to immersive online workshops taught by experienced practicing artists.