Roshan Sahi is a craftsperson, garden designer and educator. “I have been an artist for as long as I can remember. I grew up with it. It was not some choice I made,” says Sahi.
He studied fine arts in Viswa-Bharathi, Shantiniketan. In 1996 he co-founded Labyrinth Design Collaborative, multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary design lab. He has since travelled across Europe and India teaching various forms of art such as ceramics, painting, woodwork, land art. In his pursuit to engage in creative activities, he also studied horticulture and garden designing.
He says that art has been a response to his fascination with culture, people, nature and the connection they have with each other. “Folk arts, for example, is about how people respond to visual culture. It is art of the people,” he says. He has always been interested in communities coming together to do things creatively, like in the case of festivals such as Makara Sankranti.
Landscape paintings make up the majority of his work. “I have an inner world that only knows imagination, emotions, interpretations and reflections of the outside world. And then there’s the outside world- nature, changing seasons and whatnot. I combine these two worlds for my work,” he shares.
He uses his expertise in the field of horticultural and craft therapy to help autistic adults and children at the Autism Society of India (ASI), Bengaluru. He believes that understanding nature is also a way of understanding oneself. “The idea of nature is healing. Observing nature, understanding how it works and painting it, is a process of healing too,” he says.
His work will be on display from January 9 to February 6, 12 am to 9 pm, at The Courtyard, Shantinagar. Entry is free.
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