Rashmi Khurana in Conversation with Ranjan Kaul
Rashmi Khurana is a Delhi-based artist and former art educator. She has travelled extensively, participating in various art camps, residencies, projects, and cultural exchange programmes, and has earned various awards and acknowledgements by the government and private bodies. Rashmi has held many solo and group shows, including with with prestigious galleries and at art fairs around the world. An important voice among abstract painters, Rashmi has moved further to excavate the deeper layers of life in her works by exploring various mediums and materials like paper pulp, paper collages, and more recently, assemblages of fabric with hand stitching and thread.
Ranjan Kaul: When did you decide to pursue art as a professional career? Kindly give a brief account of your challenges and struggles in your journey as an artist. Any role models?
Rashmi Khurana: The decision to pursue art as a profession often comes from a deep, personal connection to creativity and self-expression. I understood art as a potential career path much later in life, even though I had a deep interest and a natural inclination towards the visual arts since early childhood. However, the joy and sense of fulfillment while creating always remained a significant part of my life.
Once I made the decision to pursue art passionately and professionally, my journey began with immersing myself completely in the process of learning and creating. I experimented by exploring different styles and mediums; still life, portraits, landscapes, collages using charcoal, pastels, oil and acrylic colours, working freely without overthinking the outcome. This period, driven by curiosity and unpressured creativity, laid the foundation to my artistic journey.
The journey of an artist is rarely smooth, from exhibiting artworks to approaching galleries, to understanding the dynamics of the art industry and finding ways to establish oneself – the list is long. But I never allowed a moment of doubt and uncertainty to creep in, whether they were related to finding opportunities, finances, or creating consistent works.
Through this journey, I realized that every artist's path is unique, shaped by persistence, adaptability, and a willingness to learn.
Looking back, I feel grateful for the challenges, as they pushed me to grow and connect with my art at a deeper level. My journey continues to evolve, but the passion that drove me in the beginning remains at the heart of everything I create.
Ranjan: You mentioned that your recent solo exhibition 'Echoes of Her Truth' at LTC, Bikaner House, New Delhi, embodied the essence of your life's journey? Could you elaborate on this?
Rashmi: ‘Echoes of Her Truth’ explores abstraction not as a formal exercise, but as a mode of representing the unseen – emotional landscapes, spiritual connections, and subconscious realities. Abstraction is not only an aesthetic choice but a mode of inquiry into the complexities of identity and existence. The works in this exhaustive series invite contemplation on the fluidity of identity, the nature of memory, and the constant process of becoming that defines human experience.
My works resist easy interpretation as the abstract forms and textures invite viewers to engage with the psychological layers embedded in the materials.
The variations in the textures, ranging from the organic roughness of papier-mâché to the expressive gestures of acrylic, echo the dynamic and often chaotic forces that shape personal identity by exploring memory, emotion, and cultural inheritance. The complete series offers a complex reflection on how personal and collective truths are continuously shaped and reshaped by the forces of history and lived experiences.
Ranjan: How did you arrive at your current style of abstraction with its fluidic, textured, and tactile nature? Did it happen naturally or was it a conscious process?
Rashmi: My way of art with its fluidity, textured, and tactile nature has evolved naturally over a long period. It has been a gradual journey rather than a planned destination shaped by my interactions with materials, experimentations, and an intuitive connection to work.
The evolution wasn't sudden – it unfolded through countless hours of explorations and trials. Each artwork marks a step in this journey, where I learn to trust my instincts and embrace the unexpected. The progression feels organic, driven by a deep exploration of texture, form, and movement.
Ranjan: While some of your works use vibrant colours, others have earthy tones. How do you explain this dichotomy?
Rashmi: The interplay between vibrant colours and earthy tones in my works reflects the duality of my inspirations and emotions. Vibrant colours come from moments of energy and a desire to celebrate life – they are my way of capturing the dynamism of movement and spontaneity. On the other hand, earthy tones are grounded in nostalgia, memory, and introspection, often reflecting my connection to nature and the passage of time. This contrast isn't a deliberate dichotomy but an organic expression of different states of mind. At times, I feel drawn to the boldness of bright hues, while at others, the quiet elegance of earthy tones feels more authentic. Together, they represent the spectrum of experiences and emotions that shape my artistic journey.
Ranjan: How would you situate your art practice in post-modern contemporary art, which has become quite diverse and multi-disciplinary?
Rashmi: My art practice finds its place in the post-modern contemporary art landscape through its tactile, process-driven approach, and an emphasis on materiality. While the contemporary art world is incredibly diverse and multi-disciplinary, my work speaks to the primal, physical act of making, blending traditional techniques with abstract explorations.
I see my practice as a dialogue between the past and the present. The use of materials like paper pulp and fabric, combined with repetitive handwork or bold textures, ties me to a tactile, almost meditative tradition, while my abstract language and fluid forms align me with contemporary expressions.
In a world where technology and conceptual art dominate, I ground my work in physicality and intuition. This positions my practice as a response to, and perhaps a contrast with, the rapid shifts in contemporary art, offering a slower, more intimate experience for both the artist and the viewer.
Ranjan: Tell us about any other interest you may have besides your art practice. Does it get reflected in your art?
Rashmi: Outside of my art practice, music and nature walks are the way of my life. Pastimes often shape the way we perceive and translate the world around us. Music, with its rhythm and emotional depth, often inspires the flow and movement in my work. It resonates in the way I approach textures and patterns, almost like composing a visual symphony on the canvas. Closeness to nature grounds me and offers a sense of serenity. The earthly tones and organic forms in my art are often drawn from these moments of connection with nature. The experiences of observing the texture of a tree bark, the fluidity of water, or the subtle interplay of light and shadow find their way into my creative process.
(All images are courtesy of the artist Rashmi Khurana.)
Ranjan Kaul is a visual artist, art writer and critic, curator, author and Founding Partner of artamour. His works may viewed on www.ranjankaul.com and his insta handle @ranjan_creates.
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