Snip Snap Snap, 2013 Oil on canvas 48” x 84"
Spanning two decades of the artist’s practice, this comprehensive exhibition reveals an expansive body of work–exploring varied intricacies of line, form and texture through works on paper, sculpture, and painting from 1992 to 2013. From the sprawling twenty-five foot As far as I can stretch (2000) in which fabric is cut, sown and painted on, to small forms barely an inch across, floating on paper in cha cha cha (1999), the works on view impart a rare broad view of Makhijani’s imaginative and playful, yet deliberate experimentation with space, color and motion. In Makhijani’s works, line is not used to represent an image; line is the image. In her paintings, variations in brush strokes–moving in opposing directions, in different forms and contours–and the finely scratched out areas alongside more thickly layered paint, emphasize that the notion of ‘line’ retains its independence, regardless of its specific location or form.
Untitled, 1993 Sumi ink on paper 12" x 16"
In the early works from 1992, which Makhjani created while in Japan, the raw dynamism is palpable as the bold strokes of the brush seem to have just swept across the paper, leaving behind a commanding reminder of its performance. Also highlighted in the exhibition is the artist’s unconventional use of traditional media. For a few years now Makhijani has been morphing her paintings on paper into sculptures. Sheila Makhijani was born in 1962 in New Delhi, India and received her Bachelor and Masters of Fine Art from the College of Art, New Delhi. In 1993, she studied in Japan at Kanazawa Bijutsu Kogei Daigaku, Kanazawa, Japan. Makhijani’s works have been on view in exhibitions at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), NY; Perth Institute of Contemporary Art, Australia; Kuntsthal Rotterdam, Netherlands; Gemeente Museum, Netherlands, and at National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, India. Currently her works are on view at the Seventh Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art at the Queensland Art Gallery/ Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane, Australia.
Yipee! 1992
Oil on paper
74 1/2" x 38"
WHOP, 1992
Oil on paper
38 1/4" x 74 1/2"
WHAP, 1992
Oil on paper
39 1/2" x 74 1/2"
Oops, 1992
Oil on paper
74 1/2" x 38 1/4"
What a smile, 1993
Sumi ink on paper
16" x 12"
Surrounded, 1993
Sumi ink on paper
16" x 12"
Untitled, 1993
Ink, paper and pastel on paper
6 1/2" x 9 1/2"
Yep! 1993
Ink on paper
5" x 8"
Not that way, 1996
Sumi ink & dry pastel on paper
82” x 8” (in 8 parts)
In front of me, 1996
Sumi ink and paper on paper
26 1/2" x 23"
Untitled, 1993
Sumi ink on paper
12" x 16"
One, two, three, four & I am not part of the foursome, 1996
Sumi ink on paper, cotton and cloth
47" x 13"
Whirly whirly whirly, 2003
Oil on canvas
72″ x 84″
Watch Out! 2007-2013
Steel wire, aluminum & glass beads
94” x 103” (variable)
Nothing to Really Know, 2010
Pencil on paper
19 1/2" x 74 1/4" Each (Work in 5 parts)
Just Like That, 2012
Oil on canvas
84" x 48"
Tak Tak Tak, 2007
Oil on canvas
80" x 48"
SNIP SNAP SNAP, 2012
Oil on canvas
48" x 84"
Nothing Really, 2009
Gouache on paper
9 1/2" x 12"
Cha Cha Cha, 1999
Acrylic on handmade paper
44 1/2" x 27 1/2" (in 12 parts)
As far as I can stretch, 2000
Acrylic on tarpaulin & wooden thread
300" x 72"
2011
Gouache on paper
16 1/2" x 11 1/2" (Each)
OK OK Stop, 2009
Gouache on paper
9 1/2" x 12 1/5"
Folded Refolded and Still Folded, 2012
Gouache on paper
15" x 4"
