My work is not photorealistic nor is it abstract: Janavi Mahimtura-Folmsbee

Janavi Mahimtura-Folmsbee’s exhibit, Reflect to Refract opened on 14 February at Hirji, Jehangir Art Gallery in Mumbai. Art connoisseurs in the city looked visibly impressed as they admired and purchased her work — a conceptual series on the human form underwater that addresses different social behaviours. This is the 25-year-old artist’s second exhibition this year, having shown at Canvas Art International in Amsterdam in January. The School of the Art Institute of Chicago graduate (2009) loves her work, but simply abhors being called young as she believes art has nothing to do with age! She married lawyer Chris Folmsbee in July 2011 and divides her time between her studios in Mumbai and the US since. She spoke to Firstpost about all things artistic, domestic and more. Excerpts: Q. How did the underwater series come about? A. The visual inspiration first came to me while I was scuba diving in Lakshwadeep. On my way back to the surface, I could see the reflection of a fellow diver in the under surface, which triggered me into thinking about how to visually create this series. I thought it would be fun to paint people doing random, nonsensical as well as sensible things underwater in order to address different social and global human behaviours or issues in our daily lives. Q. You are inspired by pop culture. How much of it is film, being one of the most popular influences of all? [caption id=“attachment_215502” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Janavi Mahimtura-Folmsbee standing next to her painting titled, It Works Better When You’ve Got The Mask’. Raju Shelar/Firstpost”] [/caption] A. My work is definitely influenced by current attractions in pop culture. It can be seen in the use of Lady Gaga’s Mac lipstick to the bright colours that dictate Katy Perry’s wardrobe largely. I love watching a good film and I tend to draw inspiration from them at times. I’m a big fan of old Disney and the new Pixar animations. This can be seen in direct and indirect references in my work through symbolism in the work and through the works’ conceptualism. Work is meant to be fun and there is definitely a satirical sense of humor in my paintings. How would you describe your art? I have a particular style of painting — my work is realistic, but not a photo representation of an image, nor is it abstract visually. They are realistic to look at, but conceptual in thought and is hence categorized under conceptual realism. Like my last few works this series is conceptual in nature too and addresses different social behaviors. Each work addresses an individual topic, the viewer is gently pointed in the direction of the topic by the help of the titles. As I draw most of my inspiration from my environment, my titles come from random things people may say, which I write down in a little black book. I have always enjoyed the process of making my work. I give extreme importance to technique and the thought along with the imagination that goes into making it. I work with oil, I use handmade paint, as I like to work with pigments of the purest form. I work with pure mineral pigments and dislike synthetic pigments. I use pure kolinsky sable brushes against a linen oil primed canvas because it allows me to work in fine detail. My work is not photorealistic nor is it abstract; this is done on purpose. I have a distinct style and choose to create works in this particular manner. Q. Are you a solitary confinement sort of an artist? Or does a happy, lively existence fuel your artistic impressions on canvas? A. When I work, I work alone in my studio. I listen to music and paint I treat it like a job. For the 7 to 9 hours a day that I paint, I’m alone. Outside my studio, I have my friends and my family. I don’t bring my work to them and them to my workspace. The only person I am comfortable with watching me paint, is my husband Chris (Folmsbee). I really wished he could have been here with me at this Jehangir show as he is in Texas right now, busy with his law work. I missed him! Q. Does your emotional makeup play a role in your work as an artist? I have a simple rule, which is that I don’t paint with my emotions. Sentiment should never be bought to my paintings when I’m at work. I need to be in a calm and relaxed state of mind. I believe, for me to do justice to the viewer, it is important for me to make art that would appeal to them and that it isn’t about me. So I make my work observational and address universal thoughts and ideas. They are meant to be subjective, and interpreted by the viewer in whatever manner he or she may choose. Q. Which is the hardest painting of all in this series? Every work is hard, but gets easier as I go along. Like when I was trying the mask or when I wanted to try out feathers in a painting; any new form is difficult. The hardest part is the drying time for these oils. The technique involved and the skill required to paint some detailed, intricate parts of my work can be time consuming and tedious. For this, I need a lot of patience. Sometimes I need to take a break and walk away from my work. Continues on the next page Q. Which is your favorite work so far? I don’t have a favourite work! Once a work is over, I move on to the next one. I don’t get attached to any of them, because then, as an artist, it becomes extremely hard to make a certain quality of work. Q. You had a solo show in Amsterdam in January this year at the Canvas Art International. What was it like? Amsterdam was a great experience. People understood my work and enjoyed it immensely. It was nice to see that a very diverse and culturally different set of people could appreciate it as well. I learned quite a bit from it in terms of presentation and about how a gallery space should be treated and how to curate an entire exhibition. Q. You are going to show in Paris in 2013. How do you feel? A. Hopefully I will show in Paris and several other paces all over the world. I feel excited and curious about how my work will be understood. I have always wanted to show internationally and I’m happy that it’s happening. It may take some time, but I have every confidence that it will happen. Q. What do you dream of, in terms of success? One day, I would like to be in museums; that is my ultimate goal to be shown at the MOMA in Chicago/New York, at the Met in New York and the Art Institute in Chicago. I want to leave a mark on Art history. That is my dream. Q. What is downtime for you? A. I like to swim everyday as it clears my mind and play PS3. Both my husband and I love cooking and we love entertaining at our home in Texas. We are wannabe MasterChefs at home, competing to cook the best dinner for each other!