Jenny Bhatt

Straight Answers

“Art should move you emotionally and intellectually”

Your works were recently auctioned internationally….

I’ve just returned from a two-month trip to the US where a couple of my works were auctioned at two of the world’s largest auctions. I also got a chance to meet Raza and saw some unusual art, which has definitely influenced my work.

How is Indian art different from American art?

Indian art is much more intuitive, because it’s influenced by our culture. But the works of most American artists are cold, because they are head-centric in their approach to art. Art should move you emotionally, uplift you spiritually and stimulate you intellectually.

You have been influenced by some of the works you came across in the US…

The art in Vancouver was pretty interesting; it was a mix of art and craft actually. Artists used products like shoes to make totem poles, chairs as dinosaur skeletons etc. I liked the concept.

You also learnt ‘aura reading’ abroad…

I have always been interested in spirituality. Aura reading is a special technique whereby one can see colours in a person’s aura. My art is extremely colour-centric, I’m a colourist by nature, and I perceive things and people in shades of colour. So aura reading has influenced my art as well.

VERY VERVE

Paintings, Poems….And a Passion

Reflection is second nature to Jenny Bhatt, an artist engaged in a spiritual search and grappling with the existential dilemma that confronts all thinking individuals

Her appetite for life is immense, understandable when you discover the philosophy that drives Jenny Bhatt: “You have to live…. until you die!” Travel is one of her pet passions, but her all-time love is creating art – whether it involves getting down and dirty with paint or playing with sanitised tools on her laptop. Though she studied Applied Art and went on to work with an advertising agency, draw cartoons, illustrate books and write art reviews, humour columns and children’s stories, these creative pursuits have coalesced into the one occupation that gives her complete satisfaction.
“I find that I am most at peace while working on a painting”, she reflects.
Reflection is second nature to Jenny…and Colour, her latest collection of paintings at The Museum Gallery in Mumbai, captured the essence of who she is at present- an artist engaged in a spiritual search, grappling with the existential dilemma that confronts all thinking individuals at some stage. But far from being swamped by questions, she finds answers in the images that evolve from the unbridled surge of energy when she allows the translucent acrylic paint to flow before restraining it with a timely stroke.
Using the head as a starting point, she explores colour, form and texture. Constructed with thin layers of fluid colour, which get denser as it forms shapes that are sometimes abstract, sometimes representational, the images are founded on a play of light. Though they induce a state of reflection, the touch of humour rendered by the cartoonist that lurks within lightens the mood.
The acrylic medium is delicately handled, giving a feel of watercolour on canvas. Some of the works consist of painting inscribed with a poem, interesting in its interactivity and adventurous in its irreverence. Indeed, this is no Jenny come lately!
- Maria Louis

The Indo-American Society's Award "Young Achiever of the Year'

Text from Article

The Turning Point

I take my work seriously, not myself, artist Jenny Bhatt tells
Anil Sadarangani.

Her colours are vibrant, the strokes are free, positivity exudes from her works. Her current collection of paintings is a reflection of the new Jenny Bhatt. “I feel free, fluid, as if I’ve broken free,” she says. So, if you’d known her previous works, more contemplative, and in the artist’s own words, “melancholy,” you’d be surprised. “Transcendental Meditation,” she says. That’s what helped her. She’d lock herself in her room and just loose herself in her canvasses. “I feel one with my work when I paint. In fact, after I complete a day’s work, which takes all day, I feel more energetic and positive. It shows in your work,” she says.
Which is why her current works are about colour and through colour, the exploration of the self. “The visual sensations are aroused because one’s eye travels all over the different textures that exist in the same colours. Also, my images are borrowed from different sources like Vedantic Theory and Pop Art,” explains the artist.
But it was not just meditation that changed the landscape of life for Bhatt. She explains, “I travelled all over US and Europe looking at different art. It completely changed me.”
The first time her life was altered by art was when she saw an original Monet, years ago. “I felt fulfilled, like my life was complete. That’s what art does to you.”
What is very interesting to note is that the questioning as well as honest and unassuming nature of the artist is absolute in her works. “We must be honest to ourselves and each other. I don’t do anything for anyone else. I create for myself. I’m excited by what I do and the fact that people are excited by it as well. And this collection has been my most intense and happiest,” she says.
And much like a piece of art, Bhatt too has several layers to herself. Like penning poetry and writing. And like her poetry that’s in her own words, “irreverent”, the book she’s currently in the process of writing, will be irreverent as well. “I’m not sure what shape it will take but it’s about the real world. Life is short and I want to do everything I want to do,” she says.

COLOUR YOUR CHAKRA!


After months of research on colours and with a knowledge of the body’s charkas, artist Jenny Bhatt finds a connection between art and spirituality, says Nicole Dastur.

Experimentation is what inspires the artist in her. And of course, colours. “I’ve always been a colourist,” claims Jenny Bhatt, whose latest exhibition, Colour Therapy, goes beyond art. “After 10 years of painting, I wanted there to be a bigger purpose to my work; I wanted it to go beyond expression.” And Color Therapy attempts to find a relation between the mind, the body and colours. Familiar with the practice of reiki and with sufficient knowledge of the body’s charkas, Jenny decided to connect the body’s inner realm with the healing properties of colours. After adequate research on visual perception, colour cognition and memory, Jenny’s tenth solo show – a melange of vibrant colours – is as therapeutic as it is artistic. “There is one predominant colour in every painting and every colour is related to one chakra. Indigo, for instance signifies the third eye chakra, which is the intuitive center, while red touches the passion chakra. When the vibration of a colour influences the vibration of a chakra, it balances that chakra, radiating positive energy, besides resulting in the well-being of the organs and tissues connected to that chakra,” explains Jenny, adding that since the eye is the sense that is closest to the mind, perception plays an integral part in defining our reality.
While her colour-sensitive works are mostly natural forms – “Nature exists to express itself, and that fact subliminally reminds us that we are part of a bigger natural reality” – her themes are grounded in urban reality. “My work is concerned with the urban mind, especially, the urban Indian feminine identity,” says Jenny, who believes in a “whole brain approach” – rather than an intuitive one – to art, which she adds, should be “Creative as well as pragmatic.” Which is why she scripts verses that go hand-in-hand with her creations: “What my paintings say in colour and form, the poems translate into words,” concludes Jenny.

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2010 Work accepted into The Viewing Program at The Drawing Center, New York
2010 ‘Idol Hours,’ London Miles Gallery, London
2010 ‘Urban Art Show – Revolution of Art’, Retrospect Galleries, Australia
2010 ‘Un-Pop, Peripheral Play with Consumption and Commodity, A Gathering of the Tribes, New York
2010 ‘Nine: Her Magic Square’ The Viewing Room, Mumbai
2009 ‘Marco Polo Diaries’ Apparao Galleries, Bangalore and Chennai
2008 ‘The Miniature Format Show’ Sans Tache Art Gallery
2006 ‘A Work of Art, a Work on Paper’- 35th Anniversary show, Cymroza Art Gallery, Mumbai
2005 ‘Present / Future,’ The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai
2003     The Asian Cultural Center, New York
2001     The India Show, Singapore
1997     ‘The Miniature Format Show’ Sans Tache Art Gallery, Mumbai

PARTICIPATIONS
2005 'Art for Concern' conducted by Christie’s, Mumbai
2004 'Celebrating Women's Lives' Auction of Art, New York 
2004 'Indian Art Now' Auction, Bangalore 
2004 'Art for Concern' conducted by Christie’s, Mumbai
2004 ‘Women : Art and Ideas’, The National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai
AGREES (Art for Gujarat Relief, Economic and Emotional Support), The National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai
2002 'Art for Concern' conducted by Christie’s, Mumbai 
2001 'Art for Concern' conducted by Christie’s, Mumbai

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2015 Gallery Art n Soul, Mumbai
2011 CDK Gallery, Amsterdam
2011 Seven Art Ltd, New Delhi
2009/10    Gallery Art & Soul, Mumbai
2008 The Museum Gallery, Mumbai
2007         Cymroza Art Gallery, Mumbai  - Solo Photography show
2007         Crimson Art Gallery, Bangalore
2006/07    The Museum Gallery & Cymroza Art Gallery, Mumbai
2005         The Museum Gallery, Mumbai
2004         The Museum Gallery, Mumbai
2002         HSBC Bank, Fort, Mumbai
2001         The Nehru Center Art Gallery, Mumbai
1996         The Nehru Center Art Gallery, Mumbai

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2010 Work accepted into The Viewing Program at The Drawing Center, New York
2010 ‘Idol Hours,’ London Miles Gallery, London
2010 ‘Urban Art Show – Revolution of Art’, Retrospect Galleries, Australia
2010 ‘Un-Pop, Peripheral Play with Consumption and Commodity, A Gathering of the Tribes, New York
2010 ‘Nine: Her Magic Square’ The Viewing Room, Mumbai
2009 ‘Marco Polo Diaries’ Apparao Galleries, Bangalore and Chennai
2008 ‘The Miniature Format Show’ Sans Tache Art Gallery
2006 ‘A Work of Art, a Work on Paper’- 35th Anniversary show, Cymroza Art Gallery, Mumbai
2005 ‘Present / Future,’ The National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai
2003     The Asian Cultural Center, New York
2001     The India Show, Singapore
1997     ‘The Miniature Format Show’ Sans Tache Art Gallery, Mumbai

PARTICIPATIONS
2005 'Art for Concern' conducted by Christie’s, Mumbai
2004 'Celebrating Women's Lives' Auction of Art, New York 
2004 'Indian Art Now' Auction, Bangalore 
2004 'Art for Concern' conducted by Christie’s, Mumbai
2004 ‘Women : Art and Ideas’, The National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai
AGREES (Art for Gujarat Relief, Economic and Emotional Support), The National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai
2002 'Art for Concern' conducted by Christie’s, Mumbai 
2001 'Art for Concern' conducted by Christie’s, Mumbai 

RESIDENCIES and AWARDS
2015 Pictoplasma, Berlin
2012/13 Space 118, Mumbai
2008   Residency in Painting and Mix Media, School of Visual Arts, New York
2008 Program in Animation as a Fine Art Medium, School of Visual Arts, New York
2005 Awarded the ‘Young Achiever of the Year” by the Indo-American Society


COMEDIC PERFORMANCES
2015 Solo Performance at The India Art Fair, New Delhi
2014 Solo Performance hosted by Art India Magazine, Mumbai
2013 Solo Performance at the Focus Photography Festival, Mumbai
2013 Solo Performance at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, Mumbai

WRITING PROJECTS
1996 -04 Writing on Art, Humour and Spirituality for leading publications in India including the Times of India group, DNA and Verve magazine
Poems published in the literary journals ‘The Little Magazine’ and ‘The Brown Critique’
2010 Wrote a book on Humorous Art

EDUCATION
1992 Diploma in Applied Art, Sophia Polytechnic Mumbai, India

The current body of work grows from experiences that led to exploring and addressing several issues concerning the urban Indian condition. In the post modern (or post post modern!) setting and a time of homogenous culture and overt media influence, the recent body of work is in the direction of finding simplicity within apparent complexity, cutting the clutter which exists in urban visual culture and thus, that which extends into our perception and seeps into our interaction, relationships and world view in general. It’s also an exploration, or perhaps assertion of the urban, Indian, feminine identity.

Of the five senses, the visual being the closest to the mind, exerts the maximum influence on it. This then translates into a perception, which manifests itself into physical reality – that of the body and thus physical health and well being, as well as that of the extended material reality.
Color as the fundamental basis of visual perception has it’s space within the realms of Psychology, Philosophy and Quantum Physics. The current body of work is concerned with Color as vibration and vibration as energy, which is the basis of matter. As per the Unified Field Theory, all matter exists as inter-related forms of crystalised energy. Color as vibration can therefore be used to influence and alter a physical reality or condition. Color thus acquires a healing property. Each of the seven Chakras, or vibrational energy centers within the body has a corresponding color. Thus, colour vibrations have been used to balance the Chakras and restore the individual’s overall state of well-being. A similar approach is used in several alternative or complimentary healing methods, including Yoga, Reiki, Homeopathy and Pranic Healing. The current series of images attempt to initiate a strong energy exchange between the viewer and the image. To make him retain the image in memory, and let the color and vibration work on his/ her mind and eventually the body. This is an ongoing process and is expected to change and continue to evolve over time. Areas researched before commencing on the current body of work were visual perception, color, cognition, memory, the mind-body connection and vibrational healing.
Having explored various areas of visual art, design and communication for a over a decade, the current body of work has evolved into images that represent a whole- brain or holistic approach to image making. A holistic view has been inherent to the Indian thought and intrinsic to several areas including science, religion, philosophy, medicine and administration. It is perhaps, India’s greatest contribution to world culture and a significant part of her identity. Each image is then, a sort of contemporary Yantra - a burst of life – love, lust, joy and positive, creative energy, with spunk and sobriety, spirit and sensuality, pop and profundity all rolled into one. It also attempts to resolve the apparent dichotomy between Art and Design, Tradition and Modernity, and Intuitive and Analytical ways of thinking by incorporating or employing both towards a single image or focus. Most of the images are high intensity, consisting of a single, saturated colour – a heightened visual sensation. Some are in large format – a comment on the workings of the media and the current state of art practice and cultural production in contemporary Indian culture and society. They function to move the viewer emotionally, stimulate him intellectually and uplift him spiritually.

- Jenny Bhatt

2015 Gallery Art n Soul, Mumbai
2011 CDK Gallery, Amsterdam
2011 Seven Art Ltd, New Delhi
2009/10    Gallery Art & Soul, Mumbai
2008 The Museum Gallery, Mumbai
2007         Cymroza Art Gallery, Mumbai  - Solo Photography show
2007         Crimson Art Gallery, Bangalore
2006/07    The Museum Gallery & Cymroza Art Gallery, Mumbai
2005         The Museum Gallery, Mumbai
2004         The Museum Gallery, Mumbai
2002         HSBC Bank, Fort, Mumbai
2001         The Nehru Center Art Gallery, Mumbai
1996         The Nehru Center Art Gallery, Mumbai

RESIDENCIES and AWARDS
2015 Pictoplasma, Berlin
2012/13 Space 118, Mumbai
2008   Residency in Painting and Mix Media, School of Visual Arts, New York
2008 Program in Animation as a Fine Art Medium, School of Visual Arts, New York
2005 Awarded the ‘Young Achiever of the Year” by the Indo-American Society

ACADEMIC AWARDS:
1992 ‘The Big Idea’ Advertising Concept of the Year
1991 Creative Student of the Year
1991 Best Film Exhibit – Experimental Animation
1990 Creative Student of the Year
1989 Student of the Year
1988 Award for Best Rendering
Awards for Cartooning from Observer India and Hindustan Times