Thank you to Saumitra Chandratreya for joining us for Immersive Conversations!
As a fiber-installation artist who believes art has the ability to bring about social change, Saumitra’s work is unconstrained by the conventional confines of media and material. His use of textiles expands the boundaries of how fiber incorporated into new artwork ranging from large-scale installations such as RAVING RAGING RATINGS to Saumitra’s Floridarama diorama Consumed by Everglades In his practice, Saumitra often molds textiles to create new objects and sculptural elements that invites viewers to engage with physical space in new and unique ways.
Printed Organza, insulation foam and Latex paint
Empty HIV medicine bottles and gold leaf
Collaboration with Kevin Mooney
Digitally printed Chiffon and Satin panels, poetry
Saumitra’s experience as an immigrant from India informs his practice in various ways. Over the years, his artwork has become more socially conscious as he views the current American hyper-polarity through the lens of someone who has adapted to walking a fine line of being an observer and participant in his environment. Saumitra often takes images from mainstream media and public sources and abstracts them to create decorative patterns and text-heavy textiles that draw from formal communication and colloquial gay language.
©Fairgrounds 2020
Saumitra’s contribution to Fairgrounds blends his reverence for social commentary and pop culture by depicting a future where nature has taken back what was once theirs and features iconic symbols of Florida life. Creating patterns from sugar packets and wildlife figurines, Saumitra recreates designs from his textile work in a three-dimensional space. With all of his work, Saumitra aims to reach across both tactile and emotional cultural barriers.
To view more of Saumitra’s work, check out: