Bio

Born in India, Sarupa Sidaarth holds a BFA in Art from Sir J.J. School of Art and MFA from Academy of Art in USA.  
Her paintings were recently selected for The Peregrine Collection - Time capsule of permanent works of art on the moon, The Lunar Codex, Astrobotic Technologies, Artemis Program, NASA.  The Untitled Space Gallery chose her work for exhibitions and a billboard in New York. Sarupa’s paintings were included in group shows at SFMOMA Artists Gallery, 33 Contemporary, RJD Gallery, JanKossen Contemporary and Site: Brooklyn.  
In 2014 she was chosen for the Golden Foundation Residency in New York and NordArt in Germany. She won the K.K. Modi Fellowship and PASCA Scholarship in France in 2011. Her achievements include NCWCA Mentorship Program, First Prize at Brea Gallery’s MICA, Frey Foundation Grant, and multiple awards at the Academy of Art Annual Exhibition.  
Based in California, Sarupa has participated in several solo and group exhibitions in India, Europe, and United States.  

Statement

Paintings1-3:  
On my birthday, October 2, 2020, I received a cosmic gift. I lost 15 years’ worth of art, more than a hundred paintings to the Glass Fire in St. Helena. The images depict destroyed paintings. A significant part of my artistic legacy survives only in digital format with no tangible form and no record of experimental work or markers of creative evolution. My response was to accept the profound, unimaginable loss on the spot. I reinterpreted my life path as a mystical labyrinth, a single, continuous path that leads you out if you consciously move forward. Conversely, a maze is a convoluted network of divergent paths with unpredictable outcomes. After 2020, which one are you walking through? The ornate motifs of fire in ‘Fire on the Mountain, run, run, run!’ evoke the interplay between the destructive and the sacred. Fire is beneficent and maleficent; the fire of ruin and that of the sun and hearth. I chose to interpret this life-changing event with the positive symbolic meaning of fire, that of rebirth. In this time of darkness, I will be my own light.

Paintings 4-8:
Inspired by Hieronymus Bosch, whose work, although shrouded in mystery, generates myriad interpretations, I weave intentionally ambiguous visual stories. My work explores contemporary life and our complex relationship with existence and evolution. Oscillating between representation and abstraction, the meaning shifts based on personal perception of what is coherent and familiar versus the probable and imaginary. The titles and fictional scenes evoke contemplation as humanity makes advances in genetics, artificial intelligence, and grapples with the pressing issues of our time.

Painting 11: A fantastical gold sky and wispy ornate clouds depict the voyage our minds take in times of loss, loneliness, and confinement. This imaginative scene presents the viewer with spatially ambiguous circular forms that perform the dual function of windows and sunglasses. Perched on the frame are a pair of toucans that symbolize travel, fortune, and favor. Wanderlust is a painting of hope, a tribute to the endurance of the human spirit and its tireless pursuit of new beginnings in times of great adversity. 

Painting 10: Prana is life-force energy, often referred to as breath. As humanity stands on the threshold of the unknown, it is a gateway to our higher consciousness. Prana reveals our inner world, which reflects the cosmos. It is the creative breath that leads to light and the cosmic energy that binds us together.  

www.sarupasidaarth.com