Bachelor of Fine Arts specialising in painting acquired,
University of Mumbai (1996); Ceramic and Pottery course completed at L.S.
Raheja School of Art & Architecture (1998); Indian Aesthetics and History
of Art Diploma, University of Mumbai (2002)
Selected Solo
Exhibitions
'The Tributaries' Solo Project & Site Specific Work, The
Loft, Mumbai 'THE EYE, Triveni Kala Sangam, presented by Sharan Apparao
Galleries, New Delhi (2007); Recent Works, Sharan Apparao Galleries, Chennai
(2007); Seed Infinite, Museum Art Gallery, Mumbai (2006); Recent Works:
2001-2005, Museum Art Gallery, Mumbai (2005)
Selected Group
Exhibitions
She, India, The Noble Sage, London (2007); Secret
Garden, Sharan Apparao Art Galleries, Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai (2007); Asian
Cultural Centre, New York (2006); Kitab Mahal, Mumbai (2006);Water, Cymroza
Art Gallery, Mumbai (2006); Summer Rites, Gallery Beyond, Mumbai (2006);
Indo-Italian Chambers of Commerce and Industry International Exhibitions,
Mumbai & Milan (2005); Ideas and Images, National Gallery of Modern Art,
Mumbai (2004); SPHOTE: A Creative Protest Against Terror, Habitat Art
Foundation, New Delhi (2003); Annual Show, Birla Academy of Art & Culture,
Calcutta (1999); Son-et-Lumiere Gallery, Mumbai (1996-7); Nehru Centre Gallery,
Mumbai (1997); Pradarshak Art Gallery, Mumbai (1995)
I believe red is the colour of veins and arteries; veins
and arteries are like roots and branches of a tree. Red is the energy within.
It is the colour of growth moving into every part of the body. I like to
distinguish between a human body and organic nature, from pod to sprout and
tree to blossom.
My work reflects the dichotomy between seeing and thinking,
between perceiving and reasoning, as also a perceptual response to emptiness
and fullness
A rising artist in the Mumbai art world, Gajams art is very
much a celebration of the process of germination: from pod to sprout, tree to
blossom. Gajam is interested in this process as a symbol of broader themes:
human growth, motherhood, completeness as a woman etc. In the widest sense,
Gajam is vested in the elements that envelope us the natural world as much
as our parentage, our shelter, the food we eat, our inspirations and
influences. These elements are our guardians watching over us, its seedlings,
lending each of us the potential to develop as human beings. Gajam titled this
series of works Seed Infinite: again a reference to the continual growth of a
human being, the dissemination of our children and their childrens children,
and, lastly, the eternal connectivity of life and death in the circle of life.
The series is executed largely in red watercolour allowing a sensitivity to
explore the potential to interpret the seen and the unseen. Her art is best
described as symbolist as it draws links between natures imagery and the
subtle emotions of the artist: for example a distorted natural element, like a
warped tree, roots for instance, could suggest existence and permanence.
Repetition of imagery, such as a root sprouting, enables Gajam to further
investigate a closely-related, very specific thought and make it evocative and
strong for the viewer. While colour delights the eye, her forms are brooding
and loaded with potency. Some of the delicate brushstrokes conjure up the
sensation of blood vessels or fibrous brain tissues, fragile and yet crucial to
life. Other forms remind us of underwater jellyfish in their caught-in-motion
appearance. The transience and alienation of her generation compared to that of
her parents is a key theme for Gajam -no doubt encoded into such pictorial
movement. Our dialogue with each piece is as quiet and contemplative as the
work itself. This is what makes Gajams work stand out: it feels like so much
is being shared with us, like we are being given her diary and asked to read
out loud.
