Bio
Born 2001 | Represented by Galerie ISA, Mumbai, India
Ricky Vasan is a representational painter from Dehradun, India currently based in Boston Massachusetts. He received his BFA in painting from Massachusetts College of Art & Design in 2023. Vasan has exhibited his work locally and internationally and recently was an artist in residence at Galerie ISA, Mumbai where he also had his debut solo exhibition in January 2024. Vasan has been a recipient of the George Nick award, The Rob Moore Grant in painting and The Kofi Kayiga auction award. His painting ‘Two Aliens Share a Beer’ was also awarded best in show for the Cambridge Art Association’s 2022 National Prize Show. Predominantly Vasan’s work focuses on domesticity and the celebration of the mundane. The minutiae of life serves as the artistʼs prelude. Through an autobiographical lens, Vasan works to create smaller narratives, showcasing moments, spaces and people that are personally significant, while also expanding on memory and nostalgia. It's interesting that for Vasan, who is also a musician, dissonance is at the core of his artistic practice. The haziness of memory, the distortion of events, the warping of recording time, are all explorations he undertakes.
Artist Statement
My work is a quiet celebration of the minutiae of life. I find inspiration in intimate moments and private spaces. The figures I choose to paint are often significant people in my life, and it is through this autobiographical lens that I attempt to tell a story. Inventive colour relationships and geometric shapes act as artefacts of our connection to culture based recollection and our individual cognizance. I am interested in creating a surface that is full of history, each mark recalling cherished experiences. Spaces collapse, figures vibrate and objects are superimposed on top of one another. The resolution of these paintings comes from a search. The lines and swatches of colour are the revelatory instruments. The goal is to tap into a tender moment bereft of logical perception of time, accuracy and space. In a way that resembles our perception of memory and is faithful to our way of remembering.
Education
Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
MFA in Painting 2024-2026
Massachusetts College of Art & Design, Boston, MA,
BFA in Painting (hons.) 2023
Exhibitions
Solo Exhibition, 'Just A Little While Longer' Galerie ISA, Mumbai, India, 2024
Group Exhibition, India Art Fair, booth with Galerie ISA, Mumbai, India, 2024
Group Exhibition, 'Now Streaming', Rajiv Menon Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA, 2024
Group Exhibition, 'BORDER(less)', MassartxSowa, Boston, MA, 2024
Group Exhibition, Art Mumbai booth with Galerie ISA, Mumbai, India, 2023
Group Exhibition, Fresh Faces, Abigail Ogilvy Gallery, Boston, MA, 2023
Group Exhibition, BODYSCAPES, Fenway Gallery, Boston, MA, 2023
Group Exhibition, 2022 National Prize Show,
Cambridge, MA 2022
Group Exhibition, George Nick Prize Show, Arnheim Gallery,
Boston, MA 2022
Group Exhibition, Homelands, Massachusetts College of Art & Design,
Boston MA, 2022
Group Exhibition, Between You and I, Piano Craft Gallery, Boston, MA, 2022
Group Exhibition, Birds of a Feather, Massachusetts College of Art & Design,
Boston MA, 2022
Group Exhibition, Emerging Artists Exhibit, The Speedway Gallery,
Brighton, MA 2022
Group Exhibition, Love That Dirty Water, Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge, MA 2022
Grants & Awards
Artist in Residence, Galerie ISA, Mumbai, 2023
Kofi Kayiga Auction Award 2023
Cambridge Art Association, Best in Show, National Prize Show, 2022
George Nick Prize 2022
Rob Moore Grant in Painting 2022
Yale Norfolk Summer Program Finalist 2022
Painting Foundation Award 2021
Studio Foundation Award 2020
Publication
Architectural Digest India, '11 art exhibits not to miss at Mumbai Gallery Weekend 2024' January 2024
Southwest Magazine, '21 Under 31', September, 2023
Sunday Mid-Day News, 'A Fair to Remember', November, 2023
Artscope Magazine, 'Bodyscapes' February 2023