Geeta Vadhera
Encyclopedia
Geeta Vadhera is a contemporary artist from Gurgaon
, a suburb of New Delhi
, India
.
A chance project with a London
-based design house lead on to projects with Pierre Cardin
and Christian Dior
, amongst other design houses. She had already started working with her mentor, Nehru Fellowship Awardee, Narendra Srivastava. Soon, Geeta left the world of commercial design to start focusing on her real love - painting. Her first exhibition, on Concrete Poetry, the poetry in the Devnagri script, "Ansh" was held at AIFACS, New Delhi
, accompanied by a book of the same name. Ansh was a step in the letterist movement. The work was received by the father of Concrete Poetry and international Concrete poetry expert, Prof Eugen Gomringer, and is permanently placed in the archives in Selbe, Germany.
, then headed by Amb. P.A. Nazareth was seeking Indian artists to showcase in their cultural exchange programs to Europe
. Geeta's works were selected for their unique India
n ness and ability to relate to Indian scriptures. Her initial exhibitions in Europe were on the Rig Veda, the Isovasya Upanishad and The Bhagwad Geeta. The shows were very well received and commercial exhibitions in Europe followed.
dreamed up the grand scale "Apna Utsav" - a festival to showcase the best of the Indian arts to the urban Indian audience. Geeta played an important role in the creative planning for this event. The Festival of Arts in Singapore
followed, where she experimented with body painting alongside leading ballet artist, Karen Clarke.
Geeta also at this time worked with several leading Indian publishers as creative consultant and designer/ illustrator. Her 5 series book "An Introduction to Art" is used by several schools in India as prescribed text for learning art.
, Tours
, Bonn
, Nice
, Canberra
, Singapore
, Chandigarh
, Mumbai or Bombay, Chennai
, Bangalore
, Kolkata
, New Delhi
. She was elected Fellow of Royal Society of Arts
in 2003 and was awarded Bharat Nirman
award.
Geeta Vadhera's "Jogia Dhoop" series was exhibited first in 2003 and comprises calligraphic paintings based on the writings of the Sufi saints—Hazrat Shah Niaz, Rumi, Bulleh Shah
, Hazrat Shah Taaji and Kabir
, amongst others. The painting on the right, "Main Vich Main", is from this series. In this poem, Bulleh Shah says, ever since I became one with the Almighty, I, as myself, ceased to exist: "Jadon di main jogi di hoi, main vich main na rah gai koi". This particular painting is in a private collection in the UK.
Geeta lives and works from her studio in Gurgaon
, a suburb of New Delhi.
In 2006, Geeta's work, Waqt Waqfa, from the "Tharro Thar" collection was auctioned by Christie's in New York at the Indo American Arts Council art auction prior to the sixth film festival to benefit the Indian arts.
"Shah Shabad" is the new series based on the works of Bulleh Shah, who was a Punjabi Sufi poet, a humanist and philosopher from the 17th Century.
"Qalb Qudrat" an exhibition at the heart of nature was exhibited at the Jumeirah Emirates Tower, Dubai in 2011.
Gurgaon
Gurgaon is the second largest city in the Indian state of Haryana. Gurgaon is the industrial and financial center of Haryana. It is located 30 km south of national capital New Delhi, about 10 kilometers from Dwarka Sub City and 268 km south of Chandigarh, the state capital...
, a suburb of New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Early years
Geeta was educated at the Delhi School of Arts and started her career with the government owned Cottage Industries, where she worked on commercial assignments.A chance project with a London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
-based design house lead on to projects with Pierre Cardin
Pierre Cardin
Pierre Cardin Cardin was known for his avant-garde style and his Space Age designs. He prefers geometric shapes and motifs, often ignoring the female form. He advanced into unisex fashions, sometimes experimental, and not always practical...
and Christian Dior
Christian Dior
Christian Dior , was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, also called Christian Dior.-Life:...
, amongst other design houses. She had already started working with her mentor, Nehru Fellowship Awardee, Narendra Srivastava. Soon, Geeta left the world of commercial design to start focusing on her real love - painting. Her first exhibition, on Concrete Poetry, the poetry in the Devnagri script, "Ansh" was held at AIFACS, New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
, accompanied by a book of the same name. Ansh was a step in the letterist movement. The work was received by the father of Concrete Poetry and international Concrete poetry expert, Prof Eugen Gomringer, and is permanently placed in the archives in Selbe, Germany.
The First International Exhibitions
At that time, The Indian Council for Cultural RelationsIndian Council for Cultural Relations
The Indian Council for Cultural Relations , is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India, involved in India’s external cultural relations, through cultural exchange with other countries and their peoples...
, then headed by Amb. P.A. Nazareth was seeking Indian artists to showcase in their cultural exchange programs to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Geeta's works were selected for their unique India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n ness and ability to relate to Indian scriptures. Her initial exhibitions in Europe were on the Rig Veda, the Isovasya Upanishad and The Bhagwad Geeta. The shows were very well received and commercial exhibitions in Europe followed.
The Festival of Arts
In the late 1980s Indian Prime Minister Rajiv GandhiRajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Ratna Gandhi was the sixth Prime Minister of India . He took office after his mother's assassination on 31 October 1984; he himself was assassinated on 21 May 1991. He became the youngest Prime Minister of India when he took office at the age of 40.Rajiv Gandhi was the elder son of Indira...
dreamed up the grand scale "Apna Utsav" - a festival to showcase the best of the Indian arts to the urban Indian audience. Geeta played an important role in the creative planning for this event. The Festival of Arts in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
followed, where she experimented with body painting alongside leading ballet artist, Karen Clarke.
Geeta also at this time worked with several leading Indian publishers as creative consultant and designer/ illustrator. Her 5 series book "An Introduction to Art" is used by several schools in India as prescribed text for learning art.
Programs and Exhibitions
35 exhibitions have been held by Geeta in diverse locations such as ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Tours
Tours
Tours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...
, Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
, Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
, Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Chandigarh
Chandigarh
Chandigarh is a union territory of India that serves as the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The name Chandigarh translates as "The Fort of Chandi". The name is from an ancient temple called Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu goddess Chandi, in the city...
, Mumbai or Bombay, Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
, New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
. She was elected Fellow of Royal Society of Arts
Royal Society of Arts
The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufacturers and Commerce is a British multi-disciplinary institution, based in London. The name Royal Society of Arts is frequently used for brevity...
in 2003 and was awarded Bharat Nirman
Bharat Nirman
Bharat Nirman is an Indian plan for creating basic rural infrastructure. It comprises projects on irrigation, roads , housing , water supply, electrification and telecommunication connectivity....
award.
Bulleh Shah
Bulleh Shah was a Punjabi Sufi poet, a humanist and philosopher.-Early life:Bulleh Shah is believed to have been born in 1680, in the small village of Uch, Bahawalpur, Punjab, in present day Pakistan. His father, Shah Muhammad Darwaish, was a teacher and preacher in a village mosque...
, Hazrat Shah Taaji and Kabir
Kabir
Kabīr was a mystic poet and saint of India, whose writings have greatly influenced the Bhakti movement...
, amongst others. The painting on the right, "Main Vich Main", is from this series. In this poem, Bulleh Shah says, ever since I became one with the Almighty, I, as myself, ceased to exist: "Jadon di main jogi di hoi, main vich main na rah gai koi". This particular painting is in a private collection in the UK.
Geeta lives and works from her studio in Gurgaon
Gurgaon
Gurgaon is the second largest city in the Indian state of Haryana. Gurgaon is the industrial and financial center of Haryana. It is located 30 km south of national capital New Delhi, about 10 kilometers from Dwarka Sub City and 268 km south of Chandigarh, the state capital...
, a suburb of New Delhi.
In 2006, Geeta's work, Waqt Waqfa, from the "Tharro Thar" collection was auctioned by Christie's in New York at the Indo American Arts Council art auction prior to the sixth film festival to benefit the Indian arts.
"Shah Shabad" is the new series based on the works of Bulleh Shah, who was a Punjabi Sufi poet, a humanist and philosopher from the 17th Century.
"Qalb Qudrat" an exhibition at the heart of nature was exhibited at the Jumeirah Emirates Tower, Dubai in 2011.