Born in Varanasi in 1981, the young artist Phaneendra Nath Chaturvedi unapologetically unmasks the men and women he draws in his large-format works to reveal the grotesque, robotic creatures he believes they really are. Skeletal forms in colorful shirts and dresses populate his multi-piece works on paper, some plugged into an electrical outlet, others held down with barbed wire and nuts and bolts.

These anthropomorphic beings focus attention on the artificiality of beautiful appearances and the corruption that he believes has found its way into every aspect of contemporary human existence and interaction. Describing himself as a painter true to his ideology and perception, Chaturvedi accepts that his work is provocative, stark and ‘brutally honest’.

Chaturvedi received his BFA and MFA in painting from the College of Arts and Crafts at the University of Lucknow’s Faculty of Fine Arts, and secured a first position in order of merit at both levels. He was later honoured by his alma mater with the Vishisth Pratibha Samman in 2005. The artist has also received the All India Fine Art and Craft Society Award in 2004 and the All India Award from the Ministry of Culture of the Government of India in 2006.

Chaturvedi’s works have been featured in exhibitions in Indian including the 20th All India Art Exhibition in Nagpur, where his paintings won an award, the National Exhibition of Art at the National Academy of Art in Mumbai, the Inter-State Exhibition in Shimla, the Annual All India Art Exhibition, at AIFACS in New Delhi and the 10th Harmony Show in Mumbai among others. Three of his mixed media works on paper have also been shown at ‘Hybrid Trend’, a contemporary Asian art exhibitions held at Hangaram Art Museum and organized by the Seoul Art Center in South Korea.