I did not work on this (painting) for at least three years and then I decided to get back to this painting for no particular reason. My older daughter was born then and was a toddler when I started to finish the painting. The painting is symbolic like many of my paintings and uses certain indigenous metaphors peculiar to South Asia/North India and Pakistan. It also has a decorative element to it and takes inspiration from Indo-Persian Miniature Painting schools.

Fatima Zahra Hassan was born in Sahiwal, Punjab, (Pakistan) .She received degree for B.F.A. with major in Miniature Painting from National College of Arts, Lahore (1991). She further went on to do an M.A. in Painting at Royal College of Art, London, U.K. (1993); Post-Dilploma   in Traditional Arts ,Prince's School of Traditional Arts, London (1994) and Ph.D, University of Wales (1997).Her rigorous training in the Indian, Mughal and Persian traditional art forms have informed her works. Selected participatios include Taking Liberties, Merton Art Festival, London (2018, forthcoming); Revisiting Beauty, Threshold Gallery, New Delhi, India (2016) and The Overwhelming Imagination: The Junction of Interactivity, Art Konsult Gallery, New Delhi, India(2016) .

She currently lives and works in London, U.K.

My early poetic woven works pursued formal order and innate symmetries, a conventional approach then displaced by my choice to narrate through open warps in order to suggest equivocation, deviation and indeterminacy as valid variables in any design. However, the rafoo-inspired mixed-media works have a very different stamp of immediacy. The images are raw, granular, seem to disclose even while remaining ambivalent – their internal structure is exteriorized, the cartography of the joints, seams and junctions is consciously delineated. While the visualization does camouflage and conceal, it is simultaneously a categorical expansion, a thorough acceptance of certain material defects and limitations that I earlier did not accommodate in my artistic vision.

Priya Ravish Mehra as born in 1962. She received a Bachelor's degree in textiles from Visvabharati University, Santiniketan, West Bengal,India. She went on to study tapestry weaving at the Royal College of Arts, London and the West Dean College, Sussex (UK). Recent Solo exhibiton is Presence in Absence , Threshold Gallery, New Delhi, India (2017). Selected national and international participations include and Evidence Room, Khoj, International Artists' Association, New Delhi (2017); Poetics of Plurality, Site Art Space, Vadodara, Gujarat (2016); Threads, Alliance Francaise, New Delhi (2014); Resonance, RabindraBhavan, New Delhi (2005); ), 10th International Triennial of Tapestries, Lodz, Poland (2001); Dedicated to Mother Earth , British Council, New Delhi (1999); Weavers of the Pacific Rim, Taumata Art Gallery, Auckland (1993) and Palash, Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi(1997).Priya actively worked with the rafoogars of Najibabad (her hometown) , conducting workshops on rafoogiri as an art form. Her baithaks were focused engaging people towards an awareness of this art form. She continued to be creatively active and inspire people around her , despite her long struggle with her illness.

 Priya Ravish Mehra passed away peacefully on  May 5, 2018.

(The research material was provided to A.M.M.A.A. by Priya. Unfortunately, much about her work remained un-discussed and yet to be documented for A.M.M.A.A. , as we postponed our meetings. If anyone would like to contribute information about her work, would be very much appreciated. Please email in this regard, to ammaathearchive@gmail.com)

Space is the product of relations, and is always in the process of becoming. How I perceive my own identity in the space I created, versus how others perceive my identity in their space. In my most recent photography series, I have included my children as part of my process and practice where I explore “mothering spaces”. I started to create different environmental spaces as sculptures, installations, and photography. Having children has propelled me to question what an identity is and to work and practice more as part of my daily routine.

Ching Ching Cheng was born in Taiwan in 1982 . Later , she immigrated to the United States and received her BFA from Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA, U.S.A. (2009).Selected Solo exhibition include “Build” , Arts Facilities Management Center, Taoyuan, Taiwan (2015); “Transverse” College of Southern Maryland, La Plata, MD( 2013) & “Rootless” Nordica Gallery, Kunming, China (2011). Internatioanl participations are “The Language of Perpetual Conditions” Fine Arts Gallery at California State University Los Angeles (2016); “5x10 Contemporary”Art Exchange, Long Beach, CA (2015) & “Pulse of LA” LA Artcore Union Center for the Arts, Los Angeles, CA (2015).

Currently Ching lives and works in Altadena, California, U.S.A.

The image of my daughter has appeared in my work since 2011 and it is about searching for my identity as an immigrant artist, mother, housewife and woman in a different culture.

Gi-ok Jeon, was born in Korea in 1970. She received B.FA. in Oriental Painting from Duk Sung Women’s University in Seoul  (1994) and M.FA in Chinese Painting from the prestigious Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing( 1998).She later studied Printmaking from Faculty of Fine and Applied Arts, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand (2011 - 2014). Solo exhibitions include A Space to Exist,  S.A.C. Subhashok the Arts Centre, Bangkok, Thailand (2016) ; Playful Prayer , ) Neilson Hays Library , Bangkok, Thailand  (2014) and Dwelling in a Space , Gallery N, Bangkok, Thailand.(2012).Selected participations are From Hangang to Chaopraya - The National Gallery / KCC / Chamchuri Art Gallery , Bangkok, Thailand (2012 - 13) and Surface / Tension - Shigeko Bork - Mu Project, Washington D.C , U.S.A. (2008). 

She currently lives and works in Chiang Mai, Thailand. 

In many of my works I take pleasure in addressing serious subjects with a layer of subtle humor. A cockroach motif, often seen in my paintings, crept into my work in 2002 as a metaphor to critique how in today’s war driven, intolerant environment the value of a human life has been reduced to that of an insect.

Tazeen Qayyum was born in 1973 in Pakistan. She is a contemporary miniature painter who received her BFA in Visual Arts from the National College of Arts Lahore, Pakistan (1996). Her work has been shown internationally in both solo and group exhibitions, some of which include Holding Pattern at the Toronto Pearson Airport (2013), The Veiled at the Textile Museum of Canada (2011), The Rising Tide, Mohatta Palace Museum, Pakistan (2010), Urban Myths & Modern Fables, University of Sydney, Australia and UTSC, Toronto (2007), A Thousand and One Days at the Academy of Art, Honolulu, Hawaii and and Musee des Beaux, Rouen, France (2005),  JAALA Exhibition at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum, Japan (2004) and  Homecoming, at the National Gallery of Pakistan (2007) .

She currently lives and works in Ontario , Canada.

I think of my work to be an accumulation of drawings that hold certain sensitivity. It draws attention to the delicacy, often neglected in the fast moving society also referencing the absurdity of the world that we live in. 

Chinen Arisa was born in Japan in 1987. She has received her B.A.(Fine Arts) from Chelsea College of Art and Design . U.K.(2009). She complete M.A.(Intermedia Art) and Ph.D (Intermedia Art) from Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo,Japan (2012 and 2016 respectively). Solo shows include Life in This World, Gallery Hatch, Tokyo, Japan,2016; One Click ,Gallery Hatch, 2015, Another Lens, BREAK Station Gallery（Tokyo). Selected participations are The Art Fair Ultra, Tokyo 2015; Doctorial Program Final Exhibition, Tokyo University of the Arts (Tokyo)2015 and  Artist Lab, Experiments of the Making, Kawaguchi Art Gallery ATLIA (Saitama),  2014.

She currently lives and works in Yokohama, Japan. 

My work is focused on the environment, the human reactions, especially critique on the fixed idea and symbolic matters in the social structure in daily life. I have explored ways to present the various issues of contemporary society in photographs, installations & collage as well as other materials that manifest my thoughts.

Tan  Ru Yi  was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1973. She received B.F.A. Sand M.F.A. in Sculpture from Nagoya Zokei Graduate School of Art & Design ,Japan ( in 2005 & 2007 respectively).Major solo exhibitions include , The stars seem so different, Shalini Ganendra Fine Art , Petaling Jaya ,Malaysia ( 2016),  Picnic, CCC, Shizuoka, Japan (2015) and The Growth Project-New Creature to NANA, Mie Center for the Arts, Tsu ,Japan ( 2013). She is currently living and working in Shizuoka, Japan. Selected participations are  Foreign Chinese in Contemporary Art - AICHI Triennale 2, Aichi Arts Center, Nagoya , Japan (2010) and Aichi Art Mori - Toei cho Project – Aichi ,Japan (2009) .

She currently lives and works in Shizuoka, Japan.

I’m interested in finding movements and situations by using dance, movements, body languages, and stage designs...I believe there are moments and things every human being has, that we can only express through the medium of dance and body expressions, because body cannot lie. I think our bodies can tell what we cannot tell with words.

Airi Suzuki was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1982. After  graduation from Diablo Valley College in California, USA, she moved to New York to study modern dance and ballet at Limon Institute and Peri Dance Center. From 2009, she worked with Perrine Valli Dance Company in Paris, and has performed at several international dance festivals, such as Tanz im August Berlin, M1 Festival Singapore, and Nyon dance festival in Switzerland. She has been choreographing and presenting new dance works through national residencies in many different cities in the world, such as FACETS dance residency at Attakkalari Dance Biennale India, Mains D’ouevres Paris, Institut del Teatro in Barcelona, and Still Point Art Festival in Hong Kong.

She currently lives and works in Tokyo, Japan.

It is not an overstatement to say, that the woman in this particular painting is a portrait of an artist; still in the very height of a crisis in the mid of her art career as she faces all the passions and emotions that go within creativity and life itself. Not withstanding the psyche that just lies within the core of intellectuality.

Cristina “Kitty”  Sollesta Taniguchi was born in Manila, Philippines in 1952. Education qualifications are  a Bachelor of Mass Communication and an M.A. in English and American Literature from Silliman University, Dumaguete City, Philippines. Solo exhibitions include,Wrong Horizon, Cultural Center of the Philippines( 2005) and Anthology of Myths and Muses,NOVA Gallery, Makati, Philippines (2008). Selected participations include 11th Asia Arts Festival and Permanent Exhibit, Ordos, China (2009);  Bloodline group exhibit at the Art Center, Philippines (2016); Tenggara Art Exhibit by at NovahsGallery, Contemporary Urban Center, Liverpool, England(2008) and Beijing International Art Biennale (2006. 2008 & 2010).

She currently lives and works in Dumaguete City, Philippines.

The historical and cultural values of my country become apparent in the construction of my pictures either consciously or subconsciously.  Turkish miniatures, Kutahya and Iznik ceramics, unique harmony of calligraphy, and the magic of solar spectrum embracing all; constitute a magic box that leaves traces in the depths of my memory.It belongs to me and cultivates my art, and stores my future and dreams while leaving today’s marks. 

Leyla Varlık Şentürk was born in Bursa, Turkey . She received B.A. degree from Adnan Çoker’s Studio, Department of Painting, Faculty of Fine Arts, Mimar Sinan University (1988) , M.A. degree in Painting, Graduate School of Social Sciences, Mimar Sinan University (1993) and Doctorate in Art degree in Painting, Graduate School of Social Sciences, Anadolu University, Eskisehir, Turkey (1999) . Solo Exhibitions Selected international exhibitions include 9th International Biennial of Miniature Art, Serbia (2008), Serbia; 13th Bangladesh Asia Art Biennial, Dhaka, Bangladesh (2008); Korea-Turkey International Exchange Exhibition”, Eskisehir Archaeology Museum, Eskisehir, Turkey (2012).

She currently lives and works in Eskisehir, Turkey.

The drawing is a part of the works ,executed as an immediate response to my feelings – of despair, anguish and separation of a mother from her daughter. The drawings are monochromes and they reflect a sense of helplessness and looking forward, which are contradictory in nature. 

Ritu Kamath was born in India in 1970. She has received her B.F.A. from Faculty of Fine Arts , Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi.. Solo exhibitions include Stepping Stones curated by Roobina Karode, AIFACS, Rafi Marg, New Delhi (1995) and  Wittiness of the Vanity Fair, Studio Art Gallery,  New Delhi (2012). Group exhibitions includeMore than Human curated by Georgina Maddox, Art Explore, New Delhi (2016), Genesis: The Veil curated by Amrita Varma, The Egg Art Studio (2016) and Clipboard curated by Shijo Jacob at Durbar Hall Centre, Kochi (2015) and RESIST curated by Myna Mukherjee, Gallery Beyond, Mumbai (2012-13) .

She currently lives and works in Noida, U.P., India.

The lotus motif keeps coming back to me. It manifests transcendence -the emergence of the soul from our physical form. Often I think creating each of my work has been like giving birth.

Kavita Nayar is an eminent graphic artist from India. She received B.F.A.(Printmaking) from Viswa Bharti University, Santiniketan (West Bengal) in 1979 and M.F.A. (Painting) from College of Art , New Delhi in 1989. Solo Exhibitions include Search Within & Beyond, Mahatma Gandhi Institute, Mauritius (2000) & Seeds, Gallery Art Heritage , New Delhi & Otterbein University, Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A. (2014). Selected participations include 10th Triennale India (2001) ; Golden Jubilee Celebrations of Lalit Kala Akademi, Lalit Kala Akademi Galleries, New Delhi (2005); Olympic Fine Arts Exhibition , Beijing (2008); International Triennale of Prints in Grenchen, Switzerland ;Print Biennale in Japan and  Bharat Bhawan  Biennale, Bhopal , India.

She currently lives and works in Noida, U.P., India. 

Being a regular practitioner of meditation and witnessing the flow of energy enables me to capture the spiritual essence of the world in my paintings. The people, places and situations that I encounter in my daily living spark emotions within me, which manifest as abstract visuals. These visuals are an attempt to grasp the formless energy behind the continuum of emotions evoked by these encounters. 

Rupa Chordia- Samdaria was born in 1978 in Pune, India. She completed  Diploma in Fine Arts, Abhinava Kala Mahavidyalaya, Pune, India (1994-2000) and M.F.A. (Painting ) , Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia (2002-04). Solo exhibitions include Grasping the Formless,  Temple University Rome, Italy (2016) and  Shakti, Sudarshan Art Gallery, Pune , India (2006). Selected International participations are The Blood of Women : Traces of Red on White Cloth, Galerija Forum , Zagreb, Croatia (2017); The Great Illusion, curated by Manuela De Leonardis, Temple University, Rome, Italy (2014) and Yellow, Gallery one one, Cincinnati, USA (2011). 

She currently works and lives in Cincinnati, USA and Pune, India

I am intrigued by the quantity of consumption and consequent littering of objects by human habitation in the environment.  The consequent ,visible flux in the physical appearance of the city ,makes me curious about the choices of consumption we are making and process of making of the garbage itself. Both of these, have eventually come to constitute the visual forms, the process and the content of my art project.

Ruchika Wason Singh was born in Delhi, India in May 1974 . She holds degrees in B.F.A. (Painting) 1997 and M.F.A. (Painting) 1999 from College of Art, New Delhi. In 2008 she received Ph.D from University of Delhi for research on Indian Colonial and Post-colonial art.Solo Exhibitions are Transit Spaces, Lalit Kala Akademi , New Delhi (2007) and   Yesterday , Once More, Triveni Gallery, New Delhi (2002). Recent International Participations include  The Blood of Women- Traces of Blood on White Cloth, (Curated by Manuela de Leonardis), Teatro del Stabile, Isola del Liri, Italy (2016); Prescriptions , Beaney Art Museum, Kent, U.K.(2016) and The 15th International Calligraphy & Painting Exchange Exhibition , Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan (2016).  

She currently lives and works in New Delhi, India.

My adventure goes beyond reality,  because when I paint, I again find my own self.   My brushes give me the wings, to fly back to the land of origin where the dewdrops of my feminine self rest.

Nguyen Mai Huong was  born in  1965 in Hanoi, Vietnam.  She has completed B.F.A.  (Painting) from Vietnam University of Fine Arts , Hanoi, Vietnam in 1991. Solo exhibition is Colours of the Heart painting, Exhibition Center, Hanoi City, Vietnam (2010). Selected international participations include Olympia Fine Arts International Exhibition and Symposium ,India (2016) ; Langkawi Art Biennale, angkawi, Malaysia (2016)  ; The 6th Beijing International Art Biennale (BIAB), China (2015) and Viet Nam - Korea Friendship Special Exhibition , Gwangju Museum of Art. Korea (2014). 

She currently lives and works in Hanoi, Vietnam. 

My works evolves around life experience and the status of woman-hood. My experience as a mother and artist has helped me develop a thought process, that raises different issues that touch upon being a woman.

Lalhming Mawii Amoii was born in Mizoram in 1979. She is a self-taught artist and did not have formal training in an art school. Solo exhibitions include Hues of Women, Gallery Art Novelty, Aizwal, Mizoram,2015. Selected participations are Annual Art Exhibition organized by Manipur Art Society, Manipur , 2013 & 2015 ;  Doyenne, Park Hyatt, Hyderabad, India, 2017.

She currently lives and works in Mizoram, India.

Art in any form evokes beauty and I believe that it encompasses two complementing emotions – one of enjoyment and the other of revelation. It is a constant activity of moulding and glossing one’s musings, ideas and observations.

Nimmy Melvin was born on 15th January, 1984 in India. She completed B.F.A (Painting) in 2006 and M.F.A.(Painting) in 2008 from Govt. R.L.V College of Music & Fine Arts, M.G. University, Kerala, India. Solo exhibitions are Surrounded , Hallegua Hall, Kochi (2011) & Horizon, Durbar Hall Art Centre, Kochi (2007). Group exhibitions include Tvam Group exhibition, Durbar Hall Art Centre, Kochi (2016); No-Man’s-Land, White Walls Art Gallery, Kochi (2016), Women Artist Camp  in association with Women’s Parliament, Kochi (2016) and National Art Workshop, Lalit Kala Akademi by Regional Centre New Delhi at Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal (2015).

She currently lives and works in Houston, Texas, U.S.A. 

Most of my recent works come from trying to turn music and dance and the rhythm of life into an image. They’re inspired by what I feel, which is usually joy from seeing the beauty of the modern world and human society around me – but not always. Sometimes it is anger, sometimes lust, and more often it is an emotion that I can’t describe with words.

Olé Viravong Scovill, was born in 1977 in Vientiane Capital in Lao PDR.  .She graduated with B.A. in Visual Art from Mahasarakham University,  Thailand (2000). Solo exhibitions include My World My Style My Inspiration II ,i:Cat Gallery, Lao PDR (2014) and I Am Thinking , i:Cat Gallery, Lao PDR (2016). Selected participations are Hippy, Love Song Gallery, Fresno, CA, U.S.A. (2008);  Laos Arts Incubator by U.S. Embassy in Lao PDR and ZERO American Arts Incubator, Lao PDR (2015);The Contemporary Arts of ASEAN  Today by The National Institute of Fine Arts, Lao PDR (2016) and  Turning Point II, i:Cat Gallery, Lao PDR (2016).

She currently lives and works in Vientiane, Laos. 

I endeavour to embody in my work the ineffable in colours. The colors are given freedom to flow, move, and dialogue with each other, share inaudibly and even invisibly the mystery of their being. They carry no thematic burden nor are pushed into the straight – jacket of meanings.

Nupur Kundu was born in Delhi , India in 1975. She received degree in B.F.A.(Painting)  from College of Art, New Delhi, India  in 1997. Solo exhibitions include Palette Scapes by NDTV at www.mojarto.com(2016); Summer Seas by Apparao Galleries, at Magnolias, Gurgaon.(2015) and The Edge of Colour by Apparao Galleries ,The Lodhi, New Delhi (2014).

She currently lives and works in New Delhi, India.

I have been working on two different ends in my creation.One socialized towards the outside world, with a slight tendency to violence. The other one is more contained, cultivated as a za -zen meditation. 

Yanling Ma was born in Hubei Province, China. Recent Solo Exhibitions include 19.40 Million Lines , Gallery 49, Beijing, China (2016); Trace of Time , Asian Art Works, Busan,South Korea (2015);  Ethereal Conclusions, 798 Art Factory, Beijing, China (2014); The Beautiful Women of Oriental, Long De Xuan Gallery, Hong Kong, China (2013) and I Draw Time, Dialogue Space, Beijing, China (2012). 

International group exhibitions are Feminine Icons in Chinese Contemporary Art, Tenri Cultural Institute, New York, USA and Gallery KONG, Seoul, Korea (2014); A Tale of Two Cities - Dublin & Beijing, Irish culture art festival , Nuo art Gallery (2013); Female Artist six French Salon, Imagine Gallery exhibition of ten years, Imagine Gallery, UK (2013); Woman in Love, Asian Art Works, Beijing, China (2013) and To be Continued, Contemporary Art Exhibition, Dialogue Gallery, Beijing, China (2012). 

She currently lives and works in Beijing, China.

I unconsciously accumulate colors and forms on canvas, and then see a space appear on support, where I find something common to "the archetypical" sensed through my involvement in nature and people ; which is how my painting forms.A painting, a flat timeless thing, is an infinite space, and able to cast light on the unconsciousness state of our mind owing to the use of colors generated by light.

Sai Yuhki was born in New York, U.S.A. on 10 January, 1978. She graduated from Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts, Japan, with B.A. Fine Arts in Painting (2002) & M.A. Fine Art inPainting (2006). Between 2003 -2004she went to The Surrey Institute Art & Design , U.K., under a Foreign exchange program. Solo exhibitions include About the Day , Musee Maenaka Miyagi, Japan (2015); Sprout , Light Source , Miyagi, Japan (2014) and Days , Gallery Kufuu, Okinawa, Japan. (2014). Group participations include Nine Colors ix, Seibu, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan (2015) ; Syunrai- Blessed Rain, Lible, Tokyo, Japan (2015) and Voca-The Vision of Contemporary Art 2015 , The Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo, Japan. (2015).

She currently lives and works in Okinawa, Japan.