My name is Shreya Malani. I am currently a third-year at the University of Virginia studying biomedical engineering. At home in Richmond, I spend most of my time with my family and exploring new Thai restaurants! My hope is that I will be able to continue my passion for art through a potential through a Studio Art minor. Until then - Giorgio Morandi until I die simply because I think it's funny.
|
Artist Statement
My paintings aim to capture the differences in individuals forged by their backgrounds, ethnicities, and age. I manipulate subtle hints of the color palette, subject, and other similarities across different portraits to play into my general narrative of interactions with each person’s appearance and past.
Much of my process consists of flipping through old family photo albums and writing down timelines and shared characteristics that link together experiences and relations, while also noting the landscapes that divide us. Between the pieces “Graceful” and “I’m a big girl now, Mommy,” a young girl and her grandma are connected through facial similarities and soft smiles despite having never met each other. The tension between age difference/wisdom is explored through changes in brush strokes, clothing, and even a slight head tilt to show maturity. My body of work demonstrates the intangible changes as individuals evolve and contemplate their place in a community.
More recently, I have begun to photograph my friends. I carefully compose dynamic compositions exploring new kinds of portraits on wood with a monochromatic scheme. I recognize common themes as ways in which I can disrupt a realistic portrayal of either a person’s portrait or a landscape’s crisp photograph by using a palette knife or layers of paint to invite the viewer into a deeper understanding of the story behind the portrait.
Over time, I have learned new styles such as painting with oil on wood and working with monochromatic schemes in order to create ranges of ‘roughness’ to each piece. I wish for the unfinished feel to influence the open-endedness of possible interpretations of each work. While I begin each piece with a carefully planned composition, the process is evolving and often leads me to a final artwork I had not entirely envisioned. Ultimately, I hope to communicate to the viewer that there is more dimension to a portrait than their mere appearance. I wish to work towards creating pieces that show the full life of someone from start to finish by painting portraits of different periods of their life.
Much of my process consists of flipping through old family photo albums and writing down timelines and shared characteristics that link together experiences and relations, while also noting the landscapes that divide us. Between the pieces “Graceful” and “I’m a big girl now, Mommy,” a young girl and her grandma are connected through facial similarities and soft smiles despite having never met each other. The tension between age difference/wisdom is explored through changes in brush strokes, clothing, and even a slight head tilt to show maturity. My body of work demonstrates the intangible changes as individuals evolve and contemplate their place in a community.
More recently, I have begun to photograph my friends. I carefully compose dynamic compositions exploring new kinds of portraits on wood with a monochromatic scheme. I recognize common themes as ways in which I can disrupt a realistic portrayal of either a person’s portrait or a landscape’s crisp photograph by using a palette knife or layers of paint to invite the viewer into a deeper understanding of the story behind the portrait.
Over time, I have learned new styles such as painting with oil on wood and working with monochromatic schemes in order to create ranges of ‘roughness’ to each piece. I wish for the unfinished feel to influence the open-endedness of possible interpretations of each work. While I begin each piece with a carefully planned composition, the process is evolving and often leads me to a final artwork I had not entirely envisioned. Ultimately, I hope to communicate to the viewer that there is more dimension to a portrait than their mere appearance. I wish to work towards creating pieces that show the full life of someone from start to finish by painting portraits of different periods of their life.