Shailesh B.R. Indian, b. 1986
Born in 1986, Shailesh B.R. received a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, specialising in painting, from the Chamarajendran Academy of Visual Arts, Mysore, and has a post-graduate diploma from the Faculty of Fine Arts, MSU, Baroda. His practice revolves around the nature of processes – of philosophical thought, art and rituals, expressed through a visual vocabulary that makes the viewer reimagine the purpose and function of routine objects. His works are playful reconfigurations of philosophical thought through mechanical means. His drawings (which unapologetically reject any grammatical precision) question the staunch formalism associated with art and use the premise of honest artistic wonder instead to explore how errors can be made in how he sees, perceives and defends his ideas.
Shailesh’s solo exhibitions include The Last Brahmin at the prestigious Villa Arson in Nice, France (2020); a virtual show titled Notes to Self (2020) and Tarka (2017) at Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi.
He has also participated in various group shows, including Hub India, Turin, Italy (2021); Colomboscope, Sri Lanka (2021); Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi (2021, 2019, 2018); Birla Academy of Arts & Culture, Kolkata (2021); Busan Video Art Festival, South Korea (2021) ; BIG Biennale, Geneva (2019); Shrine Empire (2018); Sensorium, Sunaparanta, Goa (2018); Sakshi Art Gallery, Mumbai (2017); Students Biennale, Kochi–Muziris Biennale (2015); the Center for International Modern Art, Kolkata (2014); and Gallery Espace, New Delhi (2014), among others.
In 2021, Shailesh was a finalist for the Sovereign Art Prize and exhibited his work at the finalists’ exhibition Hong Kong. He was awarded the FICA Emerging Artist Award in 2016 and the Inlaks Fine Arts Award in 2014. He has completed residencies at Villa Arson, Nice, France (2020); the Embassy of Foreign Artists Residency, Geneva, Switzerland (2019); and Atelier Mondial / Pro Helvetia – Swiss Art Council, Basel, Switzerland (2016), among other national residencies.
The artist lives and works in New Delhi, India.
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A Handful of Dust
D-53 Defence Colony, New Delhi 19 May - 18 June 2022Exhibiting Artists: Jagannath Panda, K.M. Madhusudhanan, N.S. Harsha, Sudhir Patwardhan, Praneet Soi, Gigi Scaria, Sujith S.N., Susanta Mandal, Pranati Panda, Sachin George Sebastian, Shailesh B.R., Biraaj Dodiya, Shrimanti Saha, Priyanka...Read more -
The (Pro)found Object
D-53 Defence Colony, New Delhi 25 August - 24 September 2021The (Pro)found Object celebrates an artist’s reverent curiosity for curios through the recent works and practices of four exciting contemporary artists. These artists engage with a speckled roster of found...Read more -
Cloud Burst | Delhi Contemporary Art Week
Bikaner House, New Delhi 8 - 15 April 2021Our curation titled Cloud Burst features a diverse set of expressions around the general human condition and undertakings, articulated either through more intimate mental and bodily experiences as with Pranati...Read more -
Shailesh B.R. | Notes To Self
Fresh by VAG 12 May - 21 July 2020Notes to Self is an online exhibition of selected works from Shailesh B.R.. This exhibition is part of our digital endeavour –VAG FRESH–a series of online exhibitions hosted on ourwebsite,...Read more -
Shailesh B.R. | Tarka
D-53 Defence Colony, New Delhi 13 July - 12 August 2017Read more
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INDIA ART FAIR 2023
NSIC Exhibition Grounds, Okhla, New Delhi 9 - 12 February 2023With a diverse roster of artists across conditioning, intention, practice and cultural attitudes – including A. Ramachandran, Anju Dodiya, Atul Dodiya, Balkrishna Doshi, Biraaj Dodiya,...Read more -
THE ARMORY SHOW
THE LIGHT SIDE OF THE MOON 8 - 11 September 2022In the Hero’s Journey, Joseph Campbell contends that a hero – “someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself” –...Read more -
India Art Fair 2020
30 January - 2 February 2020Read more
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Shailesh B.R.'s show pays tribute to David Hockney, Benode Behari Mukherjee, Henri Matisse
By Shaikh Ayaz | Architectural Digest India 13 February 2022'My main practice consists of kinetic art and machine sculptures that question the idea of common rituals and customs and what makes devotees perform them...Read more -
Viewing objects in a new light with The (Pro)found Object, at Vadehra Art Gallery
The New Indian Express 6 September 2021Artists Biraaj Dodiya, Shailesh BR, Youdhisthir Maharjan and Moonis Ahmad Shah have come together for a group show titled The (Pro)found Object, at Vadehra Art...Read more -
4 Indian artists recontextualize everyday items at Vadehra Art Gallery’s latest exhibition
By Nicole Newby | Architectural Digest India 4 September 2021A discarded bed frame, clock dial, bicycle chain, pages of old books, and other sundry, everyday objects find new contexts in The (Pro)found Object, an...Read more -
Why Goa’s Sensorium should be on every art lovers calendar
By Shahnaz Sigaporia | Vogue India 24 January 2018Read more -
A travel back in time
By Monica Arora | The Tribune 20 August 2017Shailesh BR’s work is perhaps the most unconventional and unexpected that you may have seen amongst contemporary artists in the recent times, and that is...Read more -
Young Guns Shine
By Poonam Goel | The New Indian Express 1 July 2015Getting a platform to showcase your art right after you step out of college is every young artist's dream. Khoj International Artists’ Association provides just...Read more
