Serendipity bloomed out of profoundness spreading its newfound fragrance
Arun Dev (b. 1981) is a visual artist based in New Delhi, India. He completed his B.F.A in sculpture from Raja Ravi Varma College of Fine Arts, Kerala and has an M.F.A in Sculpture from Central University of Hyderabad. The concept of time and space reels around in a parallel dimension in his paintings, crossing the realms of the real-world paradigm. With different colors on canvas and bold brush strokes, the artist creates a different world for everyone and leaves on others to perceive it. His paintings express human longing for a different world- a parallel universe maybe. His works portray a particular space, where all can be together, sharing and witnessing the same space and time. Emphasizing a blend of influences from mathematics, physics, and visual art, simultaneously disrupting our perception of space while evoking the mysteries of the unknown, Arun plays with perspective and optical illusion to offer alternate realities, or rather, imaginative extensions of the familiar.
Some of his exhibitions include India Art Fair with Shrine Empire, New Delhi, India (2024); Art Mumbai with Shrine Empire, Mumbai, India (2023); “MIRROR/MAZE: echoes of song, space, spectre,” Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi, India (2023); “Unknown Geometries,” Solo show, Shrine Empire, New Delhi, India (2023); Delhi Contemporary Art Week with Shrine Empire, New Delhi, India (2023); Korean Art Fair (2014); “Five for the future” at Nature Morte, Gurgaon, as part of the Glenfiddich Emerging Artist Award (2012).
Dev was awarded the Merit prize from Prafulla Dhanukar Art Foundation in 2020 and the Merit prize as part of CIMA awards in 2015. His work can be found in the collection of the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi, India, Gujral Foundation, amongst others.