Migrating Identities by Preetika Rajgariah

Art League Houston is excited to present Migrating Identities, an exhibition of works on paper by Indian-born and Houston-based artist Preetika Rajgariah. The exhibition features a large-scale watercolor painting on paper that wraps around the entire hallway gallery, and explores themes of migration, diaspora and cultural identity. The painting depicts an ephemeral landscape, effortlessly moving between abstraction and figuration, taking the viewer on a spiritual journey – an odyssey – into a realm populated with masses of people and cultures, gathering, converging, and unifying.

“What began as a mark-making experiment has grown into a self-reflective/meditative journey for me as an artist,” says Rajgariah. “When I’m painting communities, figurative details are purposefully forgotten, and importance is placed on unity and movement as a whole. Though each mark represents the spirit of an individual, it is only when the figures come together that they can move forward in their travels.”

ABOUT PREETIKA RAJGARIAH

Born in New Delhi, India, Preetika Rajgariah lives and works in Houston Texas. She received a BFA in Studio Arts from Trinity University in San Antonio, TX in 2008. Her work has been featured in group exhibitions at venues including Box13 ArtSpace, Houston TX (2013), Krasl Art Center, St. Joseph MI (2013), Avis Frank Gallery, Houston TX (2012), Art League Houston (2011), Archway Gallery, Houston TX (2012), Montrose Gallery, Houston, TX (2011), Art House, Brooklyn NY (2011) and Richmond Art Gallery, British Columbia (2011). Her work has been featured in New American Paintings, No. 102, Western Issue (2012), and she completed residencies at Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, Vermont (2014), and the School of Visual Arts Painting, New York, NY (2010).