Tommy Mintz and Kaveri Raina explore motion and form in 2019 New York exhibitions

Photographer Tommy Mintz and painter Kaveri Raina presented concurrent solo exhibitions in New York during spring 2019, exploring themes of motion, fragmentation, and cultural identity through distinct technical approaches. Mintz's show 'Ch-ch-ch-Changes' at Hudson Guild Gallery from April 25 to June 4, 2019, featured his Automated Digital Photo Collage (ADPC) process, using an algorithm to capture and composite fleeting sidewalk movements into abstract sequences printed on metal. Raina's exhibition 'Linger Still' at Assembly Room ran from April 12 to May 12, 2019, presenting acrylic and graphite works on burlap that layer solid color segments with drawn forms to suggest fragmented bodies and cultural memories. Mintz, a lifelong New Yorker with dance training, employed mathematical precision to document urban choreography in locations like 28th Street and 10th Avenue, while Raina, who moved from India to the USA at age 11, referenced raw materials and cuisine from her homeland to express assimilation's confusion. Both artists drew inspiration from historical movements—Mintz from Duchamp and Futurism, Raina from Gauguin's use of burlap—while creating still works that compress time and space. Their formal experiments with transparency, opacity, and accidental diagramming produced works where body parts, fruits, and architectural elements coexist in compressed compositions.