“My works are a reflection of life in and outside me...the point of interference is where the shadow of the elapsed congregates the idea of the forthcoming.”
Kartik Sood
Sood’s work lays bare the conditions uniting humanity, but also insists that these include not only fragility but also powers of love, communion, and the creation of beauty. The individual is at the center of Sood’s work, appearing across the paintings, photo-collages, video installations, and assemblages: at times a traveler-figure, venturing out into the unknown, at other times stilled in a state of waiting or contemplation. In all cases, however, the individual strives to make sense of his relationship with his surroundings, which often dwarf or envelop him––dramatizing the dilemma of living within a complex, sometimes paralyzing social and political structure.
Although a distinctive painterly sensibility runs through Sood’s works––quiet, unhurried, absorbing––his oeuvre refuses categorization, often disregarding the limitations of genre or medium. In a similar way, his work resists the demands of linearity or narrative rationality; often weaving the stories and perspectives of others into his art, Sood invites us to engage in an ongoing dialogue and interrogation, both of ourselves and our world.
Born in Shimla, India in 1986, Kartik Sood obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts in Painting from the College of Art, New Delhi. He went on to pursue post-graduate work in Painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S.U, Baroda, where he was awarded the Nasreen Mohamedi Scholarship. Kartik continued to expand his practice through participation in artist residencies, including the Gasworks Residency in London (2014), Pro Helvetia Residency (2014), and IAAB Studios (2014) in Basel, Switzerland and at the NTU Center for Contemporary Art in Singapore (2017). Kartik’s work has been showcased at various exhibitions and events, such as the 1st Yinchuan Biennale, as well as through collaborations with organizations such as the Kadist Art Foundation and Khoj. His works are in the collection of The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA), New Delhi.
Kartik lives and works between Goa and New Delhi, India.
“Informed by his upbringing in the hills of Shimla, in Himachal Pradesh, Sood describes silence, stillness, and a capacity for wonder as interwoven into daily life.”