‘Indian Inspirations’ is a group exhibition by artists, Mari I’Anson, Caroline Jariwala & Anjali D'Souza. The show presents an eclectic and thought-provoking range of work, representing the rich colour and culture of India. Work spans from figurative to landscape to semi-abstract work, through a range of media including, watercolour, oils and acrylic. One can not help when seeing these images, being transported back to scenes of India so familiar, such as the greenness of Kerala’s lush vegetation, the barren deserts of Rajasthan, to the tea plantations of Mummar, as well as themes of ritual, costume, and dance.

ABOUT MARI I'ANSON

Mari I'Anson has painted all her life. Following a classic art school education, she worked as an illustrator before deciding to paint full time. She still illustrates to commission. She works in watercolour, oil and acrylics. In recent years she has travelled extensively, spending winter months in sunny climes and returning home with paintings which are in great demand. Her work is in collections world-wide and she has exhibited widely, at home and abroad.

ABOUT ANJALI D'SOUZA

Anjali D’Souza was born and grew up in Kolkata, where she trained at the Government College of Arts and Crafts, completing her Diploma in Fine Art in 1984. In Kolkata, she has exhibited at the College and at the Birla Academy of Arts.

She then went to live and work at Jyoti Sahi’s Art Ashram in Bangalore, South India. She had a solo exhibition in Bangalore, in December 1986, ‘Songs of Union and Separation’, inspired by the songs of Mirabai, (a 12th century Indian woman mystic). In 1987, she was commissioned to do a series of paintings, ‘The Awakening’, for Prabha Tara Womens Institute, in Delhi. In 1988 she came to England to pursue post-graduate studies in Art Therapy and has been living here since.

In 1991/92 she was commissioned by the BBC to paint a series of pictures to accompany music written by her husband, composer Francis Grier. This was broadcast as ‘The Cry of Mary’, in December 1992. Other collaborations with her husband included painting for ‘The Ascension Sequence’ and ‘Elegy’. She then took a break from her professional artistic career to raise her young family and to pursue her interest and training in psychoanalytic psychotherapy at the Tavistock Centre, London, graduating with a Masters degree in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy in 2007. She now works as an artist and child psychotherapist in London.

ABOUT CAROLINE JARIWALA

Caroline Jariwala is a painter, visiting lecturer, exhibitions organiser and community artist. Jariwala’s intensely coloured paintings describe a personal interpretation of Italian Renaissance art with Hindu iconograpghy. Since qualifying as a teacher in 1990, she has worked on projects in schools, art galleries and community venues. Her experience covers a wide range of art forms, such as illustration, batik, mural and mosaic.