CSMA welcomed Bay Area artist Chandrika Marla to Mohr Gallery in 2022. Her exhibition of paintings incorporated saturated color and minimal forms to explore relationships and juxtapose the push and pull of memory and perception.
We spoke to Chandrika about her background as an artist and hopes for the show:
Chandrika Marla
TELL US ABOUT YOUR EARLY LIFE AS A BUDDING ARTIST. WHAT LED TO YOU BECOMING A PAINTER?
As a child, I loved making collages and completely covered one wall of my room with images of women that I cut from Marie Claire, Vogue and Seventeen. As a teenager, I learned photography one summer and was also exposed to oil painting. My true love was sewing, which my aunt taught me at home and by the time I was 14 I was creating simple clothes for myself. Fashion intrigued me, as it’s something we all participate in every day, consciously and subconsciously. This was a wonderful foray into artistic expression as a teenager. I went on to become a professional fashion designer, but it wasn’t until my late thirties that I discovered painting as a creative outlet, and that I simply had to paint each day.
DID YOU HAVE ACCESS TO AN ARTS EDUCATION GROWING UP? DID ANY PARTICULAR TEACHERS OR INFLUENCES HAVE AN IMPACT ON YOU?
My artistic education was minimal, until middle school when we could choose between sculpture, photography, and needlework. Since I was obsessed with sewing, I chose needlework.
My arts education came from pursuing fashion design as a graduate. It’s a discipline that teaches you about balance, harmony, color palettes and art history. Good clothing is inspiring, and fashion designers such as Hussein Chalayan manage to tread the line between what is considered fashion and ‘art’. Such inter-disciplinary design is especially influential for an artist like me, whose background is in clothing. Mark Rothko‘s colors elicit deep emotion, and Barbara Hepworth‘s mastery of form is incredibly compelling. These two artists have always been a big influence on my work.
TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR TECHNIQUE FOR CREATING SUCH VIBRANT CANVASES.
Because of my affection for fashion, I have always been drawn to the female body. Often, I will be inspired by objects, emotions, or memories. Once these aspects collide, I begin painting shapes directly on the canvas. They will turn into large expanses of color, and I usually let my intuition guide the scheme. I apply a multitude of acrylic paint layers, resulting in a lustrous and opaque surface with eye-popping hues.
In the final painting you will see two or three main colors, but what you don’t see are the layers beneath. These hidden layers show up in the soft multicolored line that divides the color fields, like a tiny indication of the past. When we choose our clothes, our public persona is curated and we usually hide our vulnerabilities. This is the same philosophy you will see in the shades that I select for my paintings.
WHAT MESSAGES OR FEELINGS DO YOU HOPE VIEWERS WILL TAKE AWAY FROM YOUR ART?
I would like my art to instill a sense of joy in their lives. I believe beauty and balance are crucial to our existence, and my ethos is to create work that leaves people with a memorable, happy moment.
Learn more about Chandrika Marla on her website: chandrikamarla.com.
