Although she is inspired by everyday objects and landscapes, Prajakta Potnis’ real interest lies in interpreting dreams. In a world where a great deal of attention and time is focused on realizing or fulfilling one’s dreams, Potnis attempts to reverse the process and understand people’s realities through their dreams. Her unique ability to rediscover, rather than merely document reality through her body of work, allows the artist to create...
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Although she is inspired by everyday objects and landscapes, Prajakta Potnis’ real interest lies in interpreting dreams. In a world where a great deal of attention and time is focused on realizing or fulfilling one’s dreams, Potnis attempts to reverse the process and understand people’s realities through their dreams. Her unique ability to rediscover, rather than merely document reality through her body of work, allows the artist to create a new world, much like ‘a fairytale suspended in reality’, exposing the fragility of desire and the impractical romanticism of dreams.
Potnis has painted houses, scooters and cars, all objects of desire, covered in corrugated sheets or packaging material. These material objects, usually identified with position and status, when cloaked by the artist reveal that the significance of the objects within are largely based on appearances, and that the dreams to possess them are dangerously fragile. Through her work, Potnis unsympathetically makes her viewers aware of their false sense of security and superficial desires and measures of success.
Prajakta Potnis was born in Thane and completed her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Fine Art from the Sir J.J. School of Art in Mumbai.
She has participated in several group shows, the more recent ones being ‘Some Blind Alleys’ at Anant Art Gallery, New Delhi, in 2007; ‘Soft Spoken’ at the Bombay Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 2007; ‘Reading Paint’ at Gallery Soulflower, Bangkok, in 2007; ‘III/III - Here and Now: Young Voices from India’ at Grosvenor Vadehra, London, in 2007; and ‘Myrrh’, Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 2006. The artist’s first solo show was ‘Walls-in-Between’, held at Kitab Mahal by the Guild Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 2006. In 2003-04, Potnis received the Inlaks Fine Arts Award, and in 2001-03, she was awarded a Young Artist Scholarship by the Department of Culture of the Government of India.
Prajakta Potnis lives and works in Mumbai.
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Born
1980
Thane, Maharashtra
Education
Master of Fine Arts (Painting), Sir J. J School of Arts, Mumbai
Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting), Sir J. J School of Arts, Mumbai
Exhibitions
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2012 'Time Lapse', The Guild Gallery,...
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2012 'Time Lapse', The Guild Gallery, Mumbai
2008 'Porous Walls', Sculptural Installations and Paintings, The Guild, Mumbai
2008 'Membranes and Margins', Gallery Em, Seoul
2006 ‘Walls–in–Between’, Kitab Mahal, organized by The Guild Art Gallery, Mumbai
Selected Group Exhibitions
2014 'And I laid traps for troubadours who get killed before they reached Bombay', Clark House Initiative, Mumbai
2013 'Uncomfortably Numb: Investigating the Uncanny in Contemporary Times', Lakeeren Art Gallery, Mumbai
2012 'Reconstructing (White) 3', The Loft, Mumbai
2011 'In You is the Illusion of Each Day', Latitude 28, New Delhi
2011 'Excrescence', The Guild, Mumbai
2011 'Shikaar: The Hunt', presented by India Foundation for Art (IFA) and Khoj at Select City Walk and Good Earth, New Delhi
2010 'NINE: Her Magic Square', The Viewing Room, Mumbai
2010 'A. SYCO', The Viewing Room, Mumbai
2010 'The Evolution of the Species', Institute of Contemporary Indian Art (ICIA), Mumbai
2010 'Punctum II: A Critical Look at Landscape in South Asian Photography', Lakeeren, Mumbai
2010 'Legacy: A-vanguard', Gallery Threshold, New Delhi
2009-10 'Evidentia', Gallery Sumukha, Bangalore
2009-10 'Sculpture', The Guild, Mumbai
2009 'Living of the Grid', Anant Art Centre, New Delhi
2009 'Recycled', Bose Pacia, Kolkata
2009 'The Landscapes of Where', Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, Mumbai
2009 'Multitudes', Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan, Bangalore in collaboration with Zen Studio Gallery and Artflute.com
2009 'Re-Claim/ Re-Cite/ Re-Cycle', presented by Latitude 28 at Travancore Art Gallery, New Delhi; Bose Pacia, Kolkata
2009 'Home', Travancore Art Gallery, New Delhi
2009 'Conversations', The Loft, Mumbai
2009 'Material Texts', Kashi Art Gallery, Kochi
2008-09 'Hot Shots', The Viewing Room, Mumbai
2008 'Moscow to Mumbai', Eugene Gallery, Seoul
2008 'Everything 2008: 12 Artists from India', Willem Baars Projects, Amsterdam
2007 ‘Some Blind Alleys’, Anant Art Gallery, New Delhi
2007 ‘Soft Spoken’, The Bombay Art Gallery, Mumbai
2007 ‘Reading Paint’, Gallery Soulflower, Bangkok
2007 Art concerns, Online Gallery
2007 III/III – ‘Here and Now: Young Voices from India’, Grosvenor Vadehra, London
2007 'Mumbai Metronomes', Art and Soul Gallery, Mumbai
2007 'Here There Now', Gallery Soulflower, Bangkok
2007 'Urban Smiles', Project 88, Mumbai
2006 ‘Myrrh’, Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai
2006 Three Person Show at the Vi Art Gallery, New Delhi
2006 ’Paper Flute’, The Espace Gallery, New Delhi
2005 ‘Change of Address’, The Guild Art Gallery, Mumbai
2005 ‘Anticipation’, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai; Museum Gallery, Mumbai and Galerie Mirchandani+Steinruecke, Mumbai
2004 ‘Generation’, Saffronart and The Guild Art Gallery, Mumbai
2004 ‘Bombay 17’, Bombay Art Gallery, Mumbai and Kashi Art Gallery, Kochi
2003 ‘Highlights’, Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai
2003 ‘Studio Guild’, The Guild Art Gallery, Mumbai
2002 ‘Words and Images’, organized by The Guild Art Gallery, Mumbai at the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA) Mumbai
2002 ‘Heat’, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi
2002 ‘True But Probably Unreal, Unreal But Probably True’, Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai
2002 ‘Shakti’, Hacienda Art Gallery, Mumbai
2001 Workshop Exhibition, Artists’ Centre, Mumbai
2001 Relief Fund for the earthquake Victims, National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai
2000 ‘Stepping Out’ Guild Art Gallery, Mumbai
Participations
2014 'Aesthetic Bind: Cabinet Closet Wunderkammer', on the coccassion of 50 Years of Contemporary Art at Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai
2012 'Indian Highway VI', organized in collaboration with the Serpentine Gallery, London, and the Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo, Norway at The Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA), Beijing
2011-12 'Indian Highway', in collaboration with the Serpentine Gallery, London and the Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo at MAXXI: Museum of XXI Century Arts, Rome
2011 'Generation in Transition: New Art from India', Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warszawa, Poland
2011 'Homespun', Devi Art Foundation, New Delhi
2011 'Of Gods and Goddesses, Cinema, Cricket: The New Cultural Icons of India', Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai
2010 'India Awakens: Under the Banyan Tree', Essl Museum, Austria
2010 'On the Road to the Next Milestone', part of the Exhibition 'Indian Highway', at Herning Museum of Contemporary Art (HEART), Herning
2009,11 'Indian Highway', Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, Oslo, Norway; Lyon Museum of Contemporary Art, Lyon
2009 'ARCOmadrid', Spain represented by The Guild, Mumbai
2008 'The Sakshi Show', Sakshi Art Gallery, Mumbai
2008 Dubai Art Fair represented by Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi
2007 Contemporary Istanbul Art Fair, Istanbul, Turkey represented by The Guild, Mumbai
2007 'Membranes and Margins - II', represented by The Guild Art Gallery, Mumbai at Singapore Art Fair
2007 ‘Kala Ghoda Festival’, Represented by The Guild Art Gallery, Mumbai
2007 'Anniversary Show', Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, Mumbai
2006 'Annual Show', Shrishti Art Gallery, Hyderabad
2000 ‘Monsoon Show’, Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai
Honours and Awards
2010 Sanskriti Award from Sanskriti Pratishthan, New Delhi
2003-04...
2010 Sanskriti Award from Sanskriti Pratishthan, New Delhi
2003-04 Inlaks Fine Arts Award
2001-03 Scholarship for Young Artist, Human Resource development, Department of Culture, Government of India
2002 Camlin Award (Annual Exhibition) Sir J.J. School of Arts, Mumbai
2001 Late Dinanath Mangeshkar Award (Annual Exhibition) Sir J.J. School of Arts, Mumbai
2000 S.B. Palshikar Award (Annual Exhibition), Sir J.J. School of Arts, Mumbai
1997 Cumi Dallas Award Arts Society of India, Mumbai
1996 Highly Commended (Annual Exhibition), Sir J.J. School of Arts, Mumbai
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