Important Notice

Pushpamala N was born in Bangalore. She attended Bangalore University from 1976-77, where she studied under Balan Nambiar and then studied Sculpture at the Faculty of Fine Arts, MS University, Baroda. She completed her Bachelors and then her Masters degree in 1985.

At Baroda, she was influenced by the sculptor Raghav Kaneria, as well as by Bhupen Khakhar and K.G. Subramanyan. Her first solo exhibition was at the Venkatappa Art Gallery... Pushpamala N was born in Bangalore. She attended Bangalore University from 1976-77, where she studied under Balan Nambiar and then studied Sculpture at the Faculty of Fine Arts, MS University, Baroda. She completed her Bachelors and then her Masters degree in 1985.

At Baroda, she was influenced by the sculptor Raghav Kaneria, as well as by Bhupen Khakhar and K.G. Subramanyan. Her first solo exhibition was at the Venkatappa Art Gallery in Bangalore in 1983.

Her major solo shows have been at Walsh Gallery, Chicago (2003); 'Golden Dreams', photographs, solo show, Gallery Sumukha, Bangalore (2002); 'Golden Dreams' Gallery Chemould, Mumbai (2001); 'Phantom Lady or Kismet', a photo romance, Gallery Chemould, Mumbai and Artistís Studio, Bangalore (1998); 'Excavations', solo show of sculptures, Gallery Chemould, Mumbai (1994).

Her selective participations include 'New Indian Art', Manchester Art Gallery, UK (2002); 'Ways of Resisting', Sahmat, New Delhi (2002); Art Action for Gujarat, art show and raffle, Bangalore (2002); 'Century City' Tate Modern, London, UK (2001); 'Moving Ideas' Hoopoe Curatorial, Montreal and Vancouver, Canada (2001); Khoj International Residency, New Delhi (2001); Open Circle International Workshop, Mumbai (2000). In 1999 she curated an exhibition of large site specific works, Sthala Puranagalu, Bangalore.

Her work has been exhibited widely in shows including: 'Seven Young Sculptors' Rabindra Bhavan, New Delhi (1985); 2nd International Women's Festival Bangkok (1992); 'Timeless Art', Times of India (V.T.Station, Mumbai); '100 Years of NGMA' National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi (1995); 'Africus-Johannesburg Biennale' South Africa (1995); 'Telling Tales' Bath Festival Trust, traveling exhibition, England (1997). She has taught and lectured widely on arts.

The artist is particularly known for incorporating popular culture into her work. She has adopted various popular personas and ironic roles as a vehicle for examining issues of gender, place and history. The comic aspect of her work carries a particularly sharp edge in her photo-based installations and projections, exposing cultural and gender stereotyping while exploring the complex terrain of contemporary urban life in India.

The emphasis on theatricality was shared by the artist, who reinvented herself as the vampish heroine of her own cinematic 'photoromance', which she set in Mumbai and captured in a series of black-and-white photographs for the 'Century City' show.

Pushpamala N is the recipient of many honors, including the National Award (1984); the gold medal at the Sixth New Delhi Triennale (1986); the Charles Wallace Trust Fellowship for residency at St. Martin's School of Art, London (1992-93); the Senior Fellowship, Indian Ministry of Human Resource Development (1995-97).

Formerly from Mumbai, she now lives and works in Bangalore.

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