Shailesh B.R.

Shailesh B.R. is a contemporary artist who creates thought-provoking and visually captivating artworks that invite viewers to reconsider their perspectives.

Biography of the Shailesh B.R.

Shailesh B.R. was born in 1986 in South India. He obtained a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts with a specialization in painting from the Chamarajendran Academy of Visual Arts in Mysore. He further pursued his studies and acquired a post-graduate diploma from the Faculty of Fine Arts at MSU in Baroda.

Shailesh has showcased his work in several solo exhibitions, including "The Last Brahmin" at the esteemed Villa Arson in Nice, France (2020); a virtual exhibition "Notes to Self" (2020); and "Tarka" at the Vadehra Art Gallery in New Delhi (2017).

His artwork has also been featured in various group shows worldwide. Some notable exhibitions include Hub India in Turin, Italy (2021), Colomboscope in Sri Lanka (2021), multiple shows at the Vadehra Art Gallery in New Delhi (2021, 2019, 2018), Birla Academy of Arts & Culture in Kolkata (2021), Busan Video Art Festival in South Korea (2021), BIG Biennale in Geneva (2019), Shrine Empire (2018), Sensorium at Sunaparanta in Goa (2018), Sakshi Art Gallery in Mumbai (2017), Students Biennale at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale (2015), the Center for International Modern Art in Kolkata (2014), and Gallery Espace in New Delhi (2014).

In 2021, Shailesh was selected as a finalist for the Sovereign Art Prize and exhibited his work at the finalists' exhibition in Hong Kong. He was awarded the FICA Emerging Artist Award in 2016 and the Inlaks Fine Arts Award in 2014. Throughout his career, Shailesh has participated in national artist residencies, including Villa Arson in Nice, France (2020), the Embassy of Foreign Artists Residency in Geneva, Switzerland (2019), and Atelier Mondial/Pro Helvetia-Swiss Art Council in Basel, Switzerland (2016), among others.

Currently, Shailesh B.R. resides and creates in New Delhi, India.

The art style of Shailesh B.R.

Shailesh's artistic practice revolves around the nature of processes and the interplay between philosophical thought, art, and rituals. Through his visual vocabulary, he invites viewers to reconsider the purpose and function of everyday objects, offering playful reconfigurations rooted in philosophical concepts.

Having grown up in a small village in South India with limited access to basic electricity, Shailesh developed a fascination with mechanics during his higher education.

Before pursuing art, Shailesh B.R. studied Sanskrit, and his artistic approach embodies the principles of Tarka Shastra, which emphasize the interplay between the external beauty or functionality of an object and its inner meaning, extended connotations, and the resulting critical analysis. This way of thought fuels his artistic practice, which explores the connections between the inner world of thoughts, observations, and emotions, and the outer world of objects, places, stories, and landscapes.