Manisha Parekh (b.1964) holds an M.A. in painting from both the Royal College of Art in London (1991-93) and the M.S. University in Baroda (1983-1990). She was one of the founding members of Khoj International Artists Workshop.

Parekh is one of the few artists working in India today who continues to explore an exclusively abstract language. It could be said that her works are indebted to the ethereal abstractions of Gaitonde and the geometric draftsmanship of Nasreen Mohammedi (who was one of her teachers in Baroda), as well as the more gestural ink drawings of Jeram Patel. She has developed an artistic practice which also pays reference to the craft and textiles traditions of her native land. The artist straddles painting, collage and drawing to create works that incorporate both the geometric and the organic. Her most recognized works are created by layering shapes cut from handmade papers into dense fields of pattern and energy, sometimes perforating the surface and adding other materials.

Numerous solo shows of Parekh's work have been held across the world. The last solo show was at Jhaveri Contemporary, Mumbai and her work is part of public and private art collections in India and internationally, including the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Delhi, Lalit Kala Akademi, Ahmedabad, Jehangir Nicholson Collection, Mumbai, Royal College of Art, London, Davey & Chester Herwitz Collection, Boston, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, Cologne, and Robert Lodar Collection, London.

Manisha Parekh

Memories and Places 5, 2009