Anoushka Mirchandani is a female artist living in San Francisco. Born and raised in India, Anoushka moved to the United States when she was 18. Her artworks are informed by her cultural upbringing in India, and her personal discoveries and growth in the U.S. Her work explores the perception of the female form in the public and private realm. She is fascinated by the internal mindscape of women as they encounter societal constructs of patriarchy and tackle complex emotions of vulnerability and shame. In 2017 and 2018, Anoushka was selected as a showcase artist for KSW in San Francisco, the oldest Asian Pacific American arts organization in the country. She was also selected to show her work at CA State Senator, Scott Wiener’s public offices, celebrating diversity on the West Coast. She has shown her work in various galleries in SF, and is in private collections across the U.S, and India.
Published on May 12th 2020. Artist responses collected in months previous.
What projects are you working on right now?
I'm currently working on an oil painting series that is focused on abstracting the female form into shapes, lines and colors as a way of dissecting one's individual identity. I have been in a reflective space recently, that has me questioning how I perceive myself, how I present myself to the world, and how I reconcile the multiple identities that co-exist within me; being Indian, being an immigrant, being an other, being an American, being a woman, and being an artist. My series evokes the feeling of “seeking,” which for me is looking forward and looking within simultaneously. The paintings invite the viewer to connect with the subjects on an intimate basis, and my hope is that they can find perhaps a small shard of themselves within the subjects depicted. In addition, I’m completing a few commissioned portraits. These are extremely rewarding to my practice. I create a safe and sacred space for nude sketch sessions with clients, where I spend an hour drawing them, and creating a figurative artwork for them post our private session together. Watching the precise moment someone sinks into their skin is incredibly gratifying for me, and I hope it is equally liberating for them.
How do you keep yourself accountable in your practice?
Accountability is still very much a work in progress for me. I tend to work in bursts of energy where I can spend 12+ hours a day working for a few weeks, leaving me spent and exhausted (but also feeling accomplished!). After this feverish stretch, I require a sedentary period of filling up my inspiration well again. Planning a monthly calendar ahead of time has been an immensely helpful tool for me. Having art shows that I commit to also keeps me on task and in the studio! Furthermore, I’m fortunate to be a part of an art critique group in San Francisco with numerous talented, local artists that hold me accountable.
How do you stay motivated to pursue your creative work?
Travel, although it does take me away from my studio, provides me with so much inspiration to create! Feasting on new sights, sounds and colors is always such a treat. Every time I come home from a new country, or travel adventure, I immediately get started on creating a color palette that evokes the essence of my time there. I also regularly visit art gallery openings, and art museums in San Francisco, and connect with other local artists-- There are so many artists I admire, and being exposed to their artworks certainly reminds me to continue creating, and to push past creative blocks.
Where do you hope to be 10 years from now and what would you like to say to yourself?
In 10 years from now, I hope to have evolved as an artist, experimented with many different mediums, found my artistic voice, only to have it change, rearranged, and find it all over again. I hope to also have accomplished specific artistic goals, including showing at certain galleries/museums that I am a huge fan of, collaborating with artists I admire, and being a source of inspiration and encouragement for artists that start their journey years after me. I’d like to say to myself : Keep creating, keep producing and even when things get blurry, and you feel lost -- push on.
What projects are you working on right now?
I'm currently working on an oil painting series that is focused on abstracting the female form into shapes, lines and colors as a way of dissecting one's individual identity. I have been in a reflective space recently, that has me questioning how I perceive myself, how I present myself to the world, and how I reconcile the multiple identities that co-exist within me; being Indian, being an immigrant, being an other, being an American, being a woman, and being an artist. My series evokes the feeling of “seeking,” which for me is looking forward and looking within simultaneously. The paintings invite the viewer to connect with the subjects on an intimate basis, and my hope is that they can find perhaps a small shard of themselves within the subjects depicted. In addition, I’m completing a few commissioned portraits. These are extremely rewarding to my practice. I create a safe and sacred space for nude sketch sessions with clients, where I spend an hour drawing them, and creating a figurative artwork for them post our private session together. Watching the precise moment someone sinks into their skin is incredibly gratifying for me, and I hope it is equally liberating for them.
How do you keep yourself accountable in your practice?
Accountability is still very much a work in progress for me. I tend to work in bursts of energy where I can spend 12+ hours a day working for a few weeks, leaving me spent and exhausted (but also feeling accomplished!). After this feverish stretch, I require a sedentary period of filling up my inspiration well again. Planning a monthly calendar ahead of time has been an immensely helpful tool for me. Having art shows that I commit to also keeps me on task and in the studio! Furthermore, I’m fortunate to be a part of an art critique group in San Francisco with numerous talented, local artists that hold me accountable.
How do you stay motivated to pursue your creative work?
Travel, although it does take me away from my studio, provides me with so much inspiration to create! Feasting on new sights, sounds and colors is always such a treat. Every time I come home from a new country, or travel adventure, I immediately get started on creating a color palette that evokes the essence of my time there. I also regularly visit art gallery openings, and art museums in San Francisco, and connect with other local artists-- There are so many artists I admire, and being exposed to their artworks certainly reminds me to continue creating, and to push past creative blocks.
Where do you hope to be 10 years from now and what would you like to say to yourself?
In 10 years from now, I hope to have evolved as an artist, experimented with many different mediums, found my artistic voice, only to have it change, rearranged, and find it all over again. I hope to also have accomplished specific artistic goals, including showing at certain galleries/museums that I am a huge fan of, collaborating with artists I admire, and being a source of inspiration and encouragement for artists that start their journey years after me. I’d like to say to myself : Keep creating, keep producing and even when things get blurry, and you feel lost -- push on.
Find Anoushka Mirchandani on Instagram