Chitra Ramanathan

from : 04/21/08
Until : 12/12/12

Websites:

http://www.chitraramanathan.com

Saatchi Gallery London, Artist Profile: http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/yourgallery/artist_profile/Chitra+Ramanathan/4151.htm

Indiana Production Sourcebook 2008: Chitra Ramanathan, pages 17, 23, 25: http://www.in.gov/film/pdf/sourcebook.pdf

Chitra Ramanathan: AskART art price guide for Chitra Ramanathan ...
http://www.askart.com/askart/r/chitra_ramanathan/chitra_ramanathan.aspx

Movie: Chitra Ramanathan's Extensive Body of Paintings. URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEVnyiVtm6w

Biography:

Educator and professional artist Chitra Ramanathan's current series of predominantly large-scale multi-media paintings portray the mental emotion of happiness as a visual entity through intense colors and multiple layers of textures that attract light from various angles, pushing the boundaries of her paintings beyond the confines of a two-dimensional surface. They are inspired by short-lived garden blooms and constantly changing seasons in nature, characteristics that attribute to the ephemeral, fleeting and enticingly beautiful happiness' "formless form": a phrase she has coined to describe her concept. The hint of circles almost always present in her works signify the cycle of human life: trying times followed by happy phases in a positive sense, and of life and rebirth influenced by her roots from India.

Says a recent collector of Chitra's painting who is an art connoisseur and a former staffer of the Indianapolis Museum of Art, "I first met Chitra when I took her classes at the Indianapolis Art Center. I wanted a painting by Chitra because I like the feeling her abstract work evokes. I like the way her paintings make me feel and think; and I like how she communicates so much with a subtle use of color or a tiny brush stroke.....There is so much in our world today that can be considered "negative", that I like art around me that offers hope and that reaches for joy. For me, her paintings do that"-Alice Irvan, President, AIRvan Consulting, LLC, Indianapolis U.S.A.

Her paintings have been described as "tactile works that resonate with a quiet harmony" and "Simply luxurious" by Manhattan Arts, New York. To quote from an excerpt from an interview with the artist, "Chitra's paintings exemplify her love of nature as well as the subjectivity of each individual's unique pursuit of happiness. Her painting procedure often entails making mental notes of a scene in nature, including the lighting, colors, and textures. She then uses these impressions in her studio to replicate the subject matter in an abstracted form, using rich physical textures, intense colors, and varied media".
As for continuity, the artist says, "In keeping with my nature theme, I want to focus on environmentally compatible materials that synchronize with our concerns on global warming and climate change issues."

Recent public art commissions include the MGM Mirage, Las Vegas (please see below).

Recent publications:

*Article "Paintings give form to the Ephemeral", The Indianapolis Business Journal, Profile, "Women in Business" April 9-15, 2007

*"Rendezvous Artist" profile July-August 2007 issue, the Indianapolis Star newspaper's Fishers|Geist Magazine

*"Secret Success", Profile, Indianapolis Monthly Home Magazine, Summer issue, July 2006

Career highlights, beginning with the most recent:

2007:

Biography included in the 62nd edition of Marquis' Who's Who in America 2008 released October 2007

Member, Committee on Cultural Diversity Practices, College Art Association, New York. 2007-2010. (Active member of CAA since 1997 & Member, Services to Artists Committee from 2003-06).

2006:

Solo exhibition, Indianapolis Artsgarden, January 2006

Public Art installation titled "Picture Windows 2006: Urban Interpretations", July 2006-February 2007, for the Arts Council of Indianapolis, a project supported by the Indianapolis Cultural Development Commission.

2005:

Invitational visiting artist lecture at the Royal Academy of Arts, London/RA Schools, October 2005

2004:

Commission for the MGM Mirage, Las Vegas, to create two 4 ft X 6 ft signed paintings based on two of her 1999 and 2000 originals, on permanent display in the Conservatory gardens of the Bellagio, Las Vegas since October 2004.

CURRENT POSITION

Art Center Faculty, Department of Painting, Indianapolis Art Center, Indianapolis, Indiana, 2003-present. Teach Courses and workshops in Acrylics and Mixed Media Painting

Co Chair, Art History Session: College Art Association 96th Annual Conference, Dallas-Fort Worth: Committee on Diversity Practices. Topic Presentation: "World Art: A Panhuman Narrative for Egalitarian Teaching" February 22, 2008

COLLECTIONS

•Madam C.J. Walker Theater Center, Indianapolis USA
•Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA
•MGM Mirage Design Group, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
•The College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA
The University of Illinois Foundation, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA
•Corporate collection, Lisbon, Portugal, Europe
•Several private collections around the United States and Europe

PUBLICATIONS

•Abstract, College Art Association 96th Annual Conference 2008, "World Art: A Panhuman Narrative for Egalitarian Teaching"
•Biography featured in the 62nd Edition of Marquis’ Who’s Who in America, 2008
•Biography and artwork of Chitra Ramanathan, "The Artists Bluebook 2004" American Artists: 16th Century to August 2004"- by Lonnie Pierson Dunbier, Editor. From www.askART.com "Books on this artist"

PROFESSIONAL APPOINTMENTS

•Committee for Cultural Diversity Practices, The College Art Association of America, New York City, New York, 2007-2010
•Artist-Member, Arts Council Of Indianapolis, Indiana, 2003-present
•Services to Artists Committee, College Art Association of America, New York City, New York, 2003-2006
•Directory of Artists, Council of Indianapolis Artists Services and Public Art
•Volunteer, Lilly House and Oldfields Gardens, Member, Indianapolis Museum of Art

REVIEWS & ARTICLES (* Indicates articles)

Forthcoming: Portfolio, Artists & Illustrators Magazine UK, 2008

• *Profile: “Rendezvous Artist”, Profile Article, Indianapolis Star Newspaper’s Fishers|Geist Magazine, July/August 2007

•“Paintings Give Form to the Ephemeral”, interview/profile, Indianapolis Business Journal, Women in Business Section, April 9-15, 2007
•*Indianapolis Monthly Home Magazine, Profile: “Secret Success”, Summer issue July 2006

•CAA News, Newsletter of the College Art Association, NYC; Volume 30, Number 5, "Solo Exhibition by Artist Members", September 2005
•*PR WEB Worldwide Press Release, “The Artist Chitra Ramanathan to Lecture at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK” September 25, 2005

•“Artist Chitra Ramanathan receives Hotel Bellagio Las Vegas Commission”, University of Illinois Alumni Newsletter, August 2005

•*Awards and Grants, People in the News, CAA News, Newsletter of the College Art Association, NYC; November 2004

•*PR WEB Worldwide Press Release, December 9, 2004

•*PR WEB Worldwide Press Release, October 27, 2004

•Academe, People in the News, CAA News, Newsletter of the College Art Association, New York City, Volume 29, Number 4, July 2004

•*"Happy Art", Melissa Merli, Staff Writer, The Champaign-Urbana News Gazette, Sunday, February 23, 2003

•CAA News, "Solo Exhibition by Artist Members", November 2001
•*The Champaign-Urbana News Gazette, "New Exhibition Series Opens at the Springer Cultural Center, 2000

•*Krish Krishnan, "CHITRA RAMANATHAN" KALA Arts Quarterly, Toronto, Canada, January 2000

•*Levina Melwani, New York Correspondent, India Today Magazine, “IN PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS”, May 1998

•*Louis Rodriguez Aranguren, “PINTORA HINDU CHITRA RAMANATHAN SEDUCE A NEW YORK CON EL EMBRUJO DEL COLOR Y ALEGORIAS METAFISCAS” ("Hindu Painter Chitra Ramanathan Seduces New York with enchantment of color and metaphysical allegories") Nosotros Magazine, April 1995

•*“Midwest Artist Slates Show in N.Y”, India Abroad Magazine, March 31 1995

•*Claude LeSuer, “Six Original Talents at Montserrat Gallery”, ARTSPEAK, New York 1995

COMMISSIONS

•March 2008: Public Art Commission to create a 13.8 feet wide, 4 feet high wall mural in the front lobby of Crooked Creek Elementary School, Marion County, Indianapolis. Project made possible through a grant to the school by the Washington Township, Indianapolis. Style: Chitra Ramanathan's signature style of abstraction. Theme: Global

•Public Art Installation August 2006-February 2007, “Picture Windows 2006: Urban Interpretations”, venue Chase Towers, Indianapolis. A project by the Arts Council of Indianapolis, supported by the Indianapolis Cultural Development Commission

2005: Created set of 5” X 7” postcard paintings for Florida International University, Miami Florida, USA

•2005: Set of ten 6.5" X 5" paintings, Indianapolis Art Museum/Arts Park "Gallery of the Machine" project

•2004: Created two 4' X 6' paintings for the MGM Mirage, on permanent display inside the Conservatory Gardens of the Bellagio, Las Vegas


1994 and 1995 Liquitex Product Grant Award from Binney & Smith Inc., makers of Crayola crayons. The award is a designation for "Outstanding Achievement in the Painting discipline"

Viewers Choice award, Impromptu Show, Indianapolis

University of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign, IL
Master of Business Administration
Concentration: Arts Administration & Human Resources Art Internship: New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York 1997
University of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign, IL

Bachelor of Fine Arts (Honors) Major: Painting
1993
FOREIGN STUDY
Paris, France Contemporary French Art History, and Painting (Studio) 1992

• All areas of Painting

• Advanced web design skills

• Strong skills in painting, drawing, composition, color matching.

• Creating 2D painted backgrounds required to complete 3D environments, sets or scenes for films, while working with the design and modeling departments

• Creating visually stunning backgrounds which match the film’s style and 3D requirements, using direction from the art director and production Designer.

• Introduce innovative ideas through my work by creating matte paintings which might work with the film’s goals.

• Ability to create matte paintings stylistically and / or photo realistically

• Basic computer literacy, and knowledge of Photoshop

• Advanced web design skills

• Ability to integrate illustration with existing 3D environments

• Ability to follow directions and complete tasks, independently while working within the framework of a team

• Work within a collaborative team environment.

• Responsive to deadlines and working under pressure.

Tennessee
Indiana