Painting in the Time of Corona: Dhruvi Acharya

ALL WORKS ARE ON SALE. PROCEEDS WILL GO TOWARDS CHARITY.

As Dhruvi Acharya’s watercolour paintings go on sale, proceeds will go towards those who are severely affected during this pandemic. 

Mumbai-based artist Dhruvi Acharya, known for her psychologically complex paintings based on personal experiences and events, turned to watercolours to address the stress she, like many of us, feel regarding the pandemic.

“When I started painting about my fears and feelings on the day of the Janta Curfew, it was just for my peace of mind – I was really stressed about the coronavirus and what was happening around the world. In mid-March my older son had come back from university in the USA, so my two sons and I were already in self-isolation for 10 days before the curfew, even though the government had not yet laid out clear quarantine rules as yet. So going to the studio in my residential building helped me (to some extent) come to terms with what was happening.”

Dhruvi began posting the work on Instagram, and “at some point I challenged myself to try make one watercolour a day, working 10-12 hours a day – it was a good way to keep both stress and Netflix at bay! It was quite exhausting but also very rewarding.” This daily practice led to the series “Painting in the Time of Corona” which are being made during the lockdown in India.

The sale proceeds of these works will go to those who are intensely working on the ground: Karwan-e- Mohabbat, Daily Wage Earners (through Ketto), Angaan.

The artist has her legion of fans and those who follow her work with immense love and identify with her works. But she says, “I think this is the first time that, sadly, whatever I am feeling is more or less shared by almost everyone in the world at the same time. We all are in this together. Some people write to me saying that my work is a bright spot on their Instagram feed, or that they really appreciate me putting into images what they are feeling…”

Gallerist Shireen Gandhy says the decision to put Dhruvi’s work online on Chemould Prescott Road’s website and social media is to help Dhruvi with her cause. “Dhruvi has found in this time her solace… and it is amazing to see how beautifully she has chosen her medium to seek refuge and make peace with chaos around the world.”