ARTIST STATEMENT
I am drawn to gestures and rituals, using art to capture and preserve personal experiences. I find inspiration in family traditions passed down through generations of women. Making art becomes a way of understanding these inheritances and exploring how I carry them forward.
My materials shape this process. I paint on sari and shawl fabrics passed down by my mother and grandmother or received as gifts. Each surface invites exploration. I respond to its weave, texture, and the ways different threads hold paint, allowing these qualities to inspire spontaneous additions.
My process moves between observation and experimentation with materials. Through it, I make visible the care embedded in familiar actions and objects. I honor the women who sustain these traditions while questioning the expectations and unseen labor that accompany them.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Ariya Mukherjee-Gandhi is a multidisciplinary artist based in New York City. Working across painting, mixed media, and digital storytelling, she explores memory, identity, ritual, and intergenerational relationships. Drawing from her South Asian heritage, she considers how everyday gestures preserve culture and connect generations.
Her practice extends to community arts education and youth civic engagement. She is a Hill Art Foundation Educator and has developed art curricula and taught classes through community organizations. Her artwork has received regional and national recognition through the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards and has been exhibited at The Met, MoMA, the High Line Gallery, and Pelham Art Center.
© Ariya Mukherjee-Gandhi