शहर - Shehr, by Aditya Raj

Pulp Society is very excited to present Aditya Raj's first solo exhibition, with his watercolour paintings of Delhi from his series शहर . It was during the lean of the lockdown that he attempted Inktober (making a work everyday through the month of October, and uploading it on Instagram); and his watercolour memoirs of Dilli became a sudden rage, scratching the nostalgic wounds and windings of many Dilliwalas from across the world. He takes on 'Shehr Ashob' {from Rakshanda Jalal's forward of Saif Mahmood's book 'Beloved Delhi'} literally meaning 'misfortunes of the city', and uses watercolour, ink and acrylic on A4 sized papers, to satire on, and mark the times we all live through in the city of many cities, Dilli. We start with Dilli, because it's the city we all live in, and exhibit art in.

He sold limited edition prints of these original drawings when he started Inktober. This is the first time we are showing the original paintings, all together, with some special ones done just for this show.

Raj has continued his painterly trysts with cities, on popular demand, with Mumbai/ Bombay having commenced in 2022. He plans to continue this, whenever, wherever the invitation is too good to refuse.

We have
Local All Natural Soda as a beverage partner for the preview evening.

 

Aditya Raj
(b. 1991, Delhi, India)

 

A law graduate, Aditya is a self taught artist. His practice has always involved documenting and archiving the everyday, the ordinary, and most often taken for granted; with a focus on what he sees around him. Last year he started documenting cities, starting with the city he lives in, Delhi. For him, the city is not just what is around him, but also a part of his journey as an artist, as a queer man, and a part of his politics. He has also worked with the subjects of gender and sexuality (and these themes in the context of urban life). He uses watercolour, ink and acrylic on both paper and canvas.

Aditya has shown his work at the American Centre, Delhi; National School of Art, Sydney; Art Buzz Studios Delhi; Art Junction, Delhi among others; and has done projects with Google India, and SAP India.

The artist lives and works in Delhi.