Rithika Pandey's Rome Exhibition Blends Indian Spirituality and Modernist Anxiety
Rithika Pandey (born 1988 in Varanasi, India, raised in Africa) presents a solo exhibition at ADA Gallery in Rome, featuring paintings inspired by the Rig Veda. Her work combines fantastical animals and semi-divine figures drawn from Indian miniatures and 20th-century Modernism. The anthropomorphic forms evoke the harmony of a spiritual past and the chaos of a technology-suffocated present. Vibrant colors and distorted interiors recall Francis Bacon, linking Pandey to 20th-century painting and angst. The title and imagery of Shiva and Ganesh convey a positive message of fertility and the cyclical nature of life and death (Saṃsāra). The exhibition was reviewed by Niccolò Lucarelli for Artribune.
Key facts
- Rithika Pandey was born in Varanasi, India in 1988.
- She was raised in Africa.
- Her exhibition is at ADA Gallery in Rome.
- The paintings are inspired by the Rig Veda.
- Her work references Indian miniatures and Modernism.
- The distorted interiors recall Francis Bacon.
- Shiva and Ganesh appear in the works.
- The concept of Saṃsāra (cyclical life and death) is present.
Entities
Artists
- Rithika Pandey
- Francis Bacon
Institutions
- ADA Gallery
- Artribune
Locations
- Varanasi
- India
- Africa
- Rome
- Italy